Duel Masters: Cross Force
by Shuriken16
Summary: Sequel to Vortex Wars: Two Months after Drake's defeat, all seems well with Team KG. However, this peace is short lived due to a mysterious Organization dubbed: NOVA after them. KG has to Cross Over into a new Adventure where their Kaijudo Skills will truly be tested farther than they could've ever imagined
1. Cross Over

**_[JAXA HQ: Chofu Tokyo, 2002]_**

"Sir, there's something approaching Earth's atmosphere!"

A tall Japanese man dressed in a white lab coat walked over to the scientist who called him over. He adjusted his glasses and watched as the small red dot went diagonally down the screen.

"Whatever it was, it crashed into Tokyo Port about two minutes ago."

"I wouldn't worry about it. It's probably just some Space debris that broke up in earth's atmosphere."

"But a size like this?" The scientist asked. "This looks the size of a ship."

"As I said, don't worry about it." He began to walk away, out the door.

"_Head Scientist Tachibana!"_

The tall man stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Did you say something?"

The scientist shook his head. "It seems we're getting radio contact from that fallen debris."

Tachibana closed the door and turned back.

"This is Head Scientist Keisuke Tachibana." He talked into the headset.

"_It's good to hear your voice again… Aniki..."_

Tachibana's eyes widened. "Shotaro…? But how…?"

The man on the other line laughed. _"I'll explain when we get back. We just need some help, so if you don't mind…?"_

"Understood. Get the transportation squad over to Tokyo Port, tell them that we have old friends visiting."

The scientist nodded and dialed the phone.

* * *

><p>30 minutes later and the trio of astronauts walked in, each dressed in JAXA uniforms. One was a young woman, with silky Brown hair, while the other two were Men, one having spiky black hair and the one leading them, having short black hair that slicked slightly towards the back.<p>

Tachibana approached and saluted, to which the Trio Saluted.

"It's great to see you guys… Yuuki-Chan, Kengo-Kun, Shotaro-Kun…" Tachibana smiled. He then realized something. "Where's Gentaro-Kun?"

The three's happy expressions slowly deteriorated after hearing his name.

"Gentaro… He's dead." Shotaro spoke up.

Tachibana nodded and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for you loss. Shotaro, come with me so you can be debriefed."

"Yes sir." Shotaro followed Tachibana as the other two were taken by the agents to get checked out.

Making it to his office they both sat.

"So… What happened to you four? We lost contact with the Ryuusei Spaceship were intercepted by the Black Hole two years ago."

Shotaro nodded. "Well… As you can see, we survived. As it turned out, that wasn't a black hole to begin with…"

"It wasn't?"

"It was a portal…" Shotaro corrected. "To another World…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>[Glen Falls Civic Center, Upstate New York, Oct. 16 2015…]<em>**

"Thanks all for tuning in to this special presentation of the DCA State Showdown Tournament!" The announcer, D-MAX announced, which made the crowd roar. "There have been dozens of teams that have proved themselves worthy of making it here to the Tournament, where the winner will be promoted to B-Rank. So without further ado, let's introduce the teams for our final match of our tournament!"

"Looks like I'm up. Wish me luck guys."

The 17 year old teen yawned and stretched. He threw on his green baseball cap, twisting it backwards, straightened out his black jacket and nodded.

"Don't screw up C.J. The whole school's depending on this win." A Husky Caucasian told him, wearing a swamp green and black T-Shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers with a yellow bag flung over his shoulder. His growing brown hair got in his face as he pushed it aside.

"Don't worry about him Jake." A young Caucasian girl, about their age next to him replied. She had her long black hair tied in a ponytail, also wearing a black shirt with a red hoodie over it, in addition to blue skinny jeans and sneakers. She got up and hugged C.J. "He's going to do fine. But you do realize that if you lose then we're over right?"

C.J. gave the girl a "You gotta be kidding me" look. "We've been dating for twelve hours and if I lose just one duel then it's all over?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yup; But think of it this way, if you can save the world twice then this should be a walk in the park." She kissed him on the cheek. "Love you."

C.J. rolled his eyes, his face red from the kiss but he quickly shook it off as D-MAX got ready to announce the teams.

"On one side, we have the School from Star point High right here in Upstate New York, the team representing them is none other than last year's Runner Ups, Team Cyber!"

The crowd cheered as a teen around Seventeen years old, dressed in a red shirt, blue pants and red and white sneakers walked up to the platform. He waved at the audience and smirked, confident that this match would be quick.

"And in this corner, representing Stuyvesant High School in NYC, is the Infamous team that's been making headlines for the last few months, Give it up, for Team, Kaijudo Generation!"

C.J. walked out as the crowd went ecstatic, chanting his nickname.

"Terra Knight! Terra Knight! Terra Knight!" The crowd carried on, making C.J. turn a little red. He made his way to the platform as they rose up about 10 feet into the air.

The two duelist slid their gloves on and set their respected decks on the terminals.

"So, you're the famous 'Terra Knight' that the Dueling Circuit's been making noise about." The teen said.

"Yeah, that's me… The name's C.J."

"Marcus…" He replied. "Nice to meet you…."

"Likewise…"

Five teal colored rectangles materialized via holograms at the corners of the dueling area.

"On my mark, You Duelist can begin. 3…2…1… Let the Final Match of the NY State Showdown… Begin!"

"DUEL START!" C.J. and Marcus called out as the crowd roared…

* * *

><p><em>Duel Masters: The Hottest TCG that's sweeping the World by Storm! Using The Five Civilizations of Fire, Water, Light, Darkness and Nature, Tens of Thousands of Duelist take part in epic battles to break all five of the opponent's shields just to finish them off with one final attack! Do you plan on being the best of the best? If so Strap on your gloves, deploy your shields and get ready to: Own the Zone!<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: Cross Over<p>

"I Charge mana and end." C.J. started the duel off by setting a Nature/Fire Mana.

Marcus drew and set Fire mana. "I end my turn."

C.J. drew and set mana, this time Fire mana. "I Summon Paconeco, the Dream Ruler."

Behind him a small cat-like creature with blue-colored royal attire materialized behind him.

"And C.J. Summons Paconeco, a Dreammate-type creature to start this match off."

* * *

><p>"Tell me again why he decided to start using Dreammates?" Jamie asked.<p>

Jake shrugged her shoulders. "Think it was something about not having enough Earth dragons or something. Besides, you switched from Water to Darkness, what's that all about?"

"I have my reasons…" Jamie turned her head, not having an answer for her decision.

* * *

><p>"Dreammates, huh…? This should be over quick." Marcus drew. "I charge mana and summon Kamikaze Chainsaw Warrior."<p>

A Green robot with chainsaws on his arms materialized behind Marcus. "That'll do it for now."

C.J. drew his next card and set it. "You're up Flare." C.J. tapped his three mana. "I Summon Cocco Lupia!"

A small red fire bird with a crown on its head and a flute in its pouch materialized next to the Dreammate.

"Paconeco, Break his shields ike!"

Paconeco waved its scepter in a circle and created a boulder out of thin air. It waved its scepter and threw the rock which broke one of the shields.

"Jeez, I didn't know Dreammates could do that." Jamie exclaimed.

"Well, they are dream creatures so… "Jake tried to reason. "Anything's possible for them I guess."

The broken shield pieces sparkled in the air , but instead of fading they stopped and recreated into a second Kamikaze.

"Shield Trigger: I summon Kamikaze Chainsaw warrior." Marcus said as he set the card into the Battle Zone.

"And Marcus summons a second Kamikaze through its Shield Trigger ability! The odds are in his favor now, even though he lost a shield."

Marcus smirked and drew and set more Fire Mana. "I Summon Zyler's Lighter."

A red ligher-like creature materialized into the battle zone raring to attack.

"When all of my mana are Fire Cards, Zyler's Lighter gains Speed Attacker, taking away it's summoning sickness. " Kamikaze, Attack Paconeco, Second Kamikaze and Zyler's Lighter break his shields!"

The first Kamikaze tackled the little cat-like king as they kept hitting each other until they both faded away, as the Lighter and the second Warrior made two of C.J.'s shields Shatter without much effort, leaving him with three. Despite that, C.J. smirked.

"You're not the only one with triggers; Shield Trigger: Hell Scrapper! I can choose any number of your creatures with total power of 5000 or less and destroy them. And with Lighter and Kamikaze totaling 4000 together, Hell Scrapper, waste them!"

The shield reformed into a giant crushing machine that surrounded the two machine-like creatures, turning them into scrap metal.

The crowd continued to cheer on as both of them were evenly matched. To the audience, they were watching true B-Ranks Duelist right before their eyes.

"My turn…!" C.J. drew and smirked. "Let's run wild, partner. Roar, Blazing Fiona Knight: Super Dragon Machine Dolzark!"

C.J. tapped his four mana as he set the 6 mana costing creature into the battle zone.

Cocco Lupia played her flute assisting in summoning the dragon. Dolzark resembled a cyborg-like Dragon with Silver, Red and Green Armor, and four arms, each holding a different bladed weapon, from a Scythe, to a tomahawk, to a sword.

"And C.J. summoned his trump Card, Super Dragon Machine Dolzark!" D-MAX announced as the crowd went crazy.

"Weird how you're getting praise for every move you make." Marcus commented.

"Well what can I say? I am the hero after all." C.J. joked.

Marcus laughed. "Well in that case, I'll play the role of the villain." Marcus drew his next card and set it.

"Let's start by doing this. I Summon Rothus the Traveler."

The Brown robot materialized into the battle zone, aiming at Dolzark and Lupia, waiting for his final target to be chosen.

C.J. sucked his teeth in annoyance as he turned around at his two creatures.

Cocco Lupia nodded and volunteered itself to be destroyed.

C.J. nodded and moved Cocco to the Grave. "I send Cocco Lupia to the grave."

"And I, Rothus..." Rothus shot the missiles at Cocco Lupia and turned his blaster on itself, self-destructing. "I end my turn."

C.J. drew next and set mana. "I Summon Meowpatta, the Dragon Stewart!"

A black cat-like creature materialized into the battle zone, dressed in a black and red training uniform. It motioned like it was in a hurry as C.J. tapped it.

"Meowpatta has Speed Attacker, Break his shield!" Meowpatta ran over without hesitation and broke a shield, relieved that the task was over. But suddenly, the broken shared spun around him, turning into a Blue-flamed Tornado, which ate it up.

"Shield Trigger: Tornado Flame, I destroy your cat."

C.J., once again didn't like that, but if there's anything he's learned, is that it doesn't help to get angry at small losses. "I end my turn."

Marcus drew and set mana. "I summon Hypersprint Warrior Uzesol. Break his shields Ike!"

The Orange Robot flew into the battle Zone and kicked a shield to bits.

C.J. picked up the shield and was surprised at what it was. "This'll work nicely. Shield trigger X: I Generate Octillion Force, and Cross it onto Dolzark!"

The unique weapon materialized into the Battle zone and broke into Pieces, latching onto Dolzark's armor, making the dragon resemble a ferocious insect.

"And C.J. Got a Shield Trigger X! Cards with Shield Trigger X are able to be generated and crossed to an available creature in the battle zone.

"Didn't expect that…" Marcus commented.

"Honestly, neither did I." C.J. drew his next card and his smile grew. "This duel's mine…" C.J. smirked. He dropped the newly drawn card into his mana and smiled.

"What's that going to do…?" Marcus asked.

"This… I Summon Leoldo, the Shield King!"

Marcus looked at him oddly and took a look at the card in his Battle Zone. "No way…!"

Leoldo Materialized behind C.J. having the appearance of a White lion-like king wielding a staff with a flame-like end on it. he slammed it into the ground as three Holograms materialized in front of him.

"Yup; Leoldo, The Shield King;" C.J. said determined, looking down at the Fire Card. "When he comes into play, his Thrilling Three Ability activates. For every Dreammate revealed from the top of my deck, one of your shields with 'Shield Trigger', is automatically destroyed. Thrilling Three, Activate!" C.J. called out as he set the top three cards of his deck next to his creatures.

"So what, even if you do get them it all depends on what's under my shields."

"Don't worry; I have faith that this'll work. My teammates, taught me how to be observant of my opponent's plays, and you know what I noticed about you?"

"Enlighten me…" Marcus said curiously, crossing his arms.

C.J. set the three cards on the table, and put his hand on the first one.

"For one thing, every shield I broke thus far was a Trigger. Kamikaze and Tornado Flame…" The first card Flipped: Byakko, the Innocent Blade.

"Second, Three out of five of your mana, are Shield Triggers, so that tells me that you deck must have quite a few triggers." The second card flipped, Meowpatta

"What's the Third observation…? Marcus asked, getting annoyed.

"Third…?" C.J. thought. "I don't know; But I was thinking, that you keep killing my defenses, to lure me into attacking you the second I had the opportunity, Right? And when I did that… Boom, Shield Trigger."

C.J. flipped the final card and sure enough, it was Paconeco.

"That makes three Dreammates. Now let's see those shields."

Marcus flipped over the first shield. "Hell Scrapper." He tossed it to the grave. The Second card was… "Rothus, the Skycutter." Sent to the grave And finally number three. "Inferno Scissors… Dang it."

The Shield was sent to the grave as C.J. readied Dolzark.

"If it's any consolation, that last observance was a straight up guess." C.J. laughed lightly. "Dolzark, Todomeda!"

Dolzark Roared and unleashed a blue laser beam from it's chest as it Hit Marcus's side. The hologram went through him like nothing at all as this side flashed red.

* * *

><p>"GAME OVER! THE WINNERS OF THE NY STATE SHOWDOWN IS TEAM KAIJUDO GENERATION!" D-MAX announced excitedly. The crowd roared even louder than at the beginning as C.J. jumped in the air in excitement.<p>

"Tsume, you were awesome!" He turned to the Dolzark, who nodded.

The dragon disappeared as the platforms lowered to the ground. It then re-materialized onto his Shoulder, in addition to the Cocco Lupia.

"As always, my loyal sidekick, as always…" The dragon dusted off his shoulders, earning him a peck in the head from the Cocco Lupia.

"Ow, you damn pigeon!" Tsume growled.

"That wasn't very nice, apologize!" The bird snapped.

"Don't worry about it Flare, he's only joking." He laughed. "But seriously though, these Dreammates are quite underrated aren't they?"

Tsume nodded. "They're cute and fuzzy by appearance, but they have some really deadly abilities. Trust me."

"You got demolished by one didn't you?" C.J. asked.

"Only because I was young and stupid…" Tsume added. "I tried to pick a fight with a Paconeco when I was a baby Fear Fang next thing I know the thing evolved into a giant version of itself." Tsume shivered thinking of the horror.

C.J. laughed as he walked back to where his team was. "And The Terra Knight gets another one for his loyal friends back over here!"

Jake high-fives him and Jamie hugged her boyfriend.

"Good job bro." Jake told him. "How does it feel to know that you got your B-License?"

"Exciting; and it also tells me that I'm that much closer to being on you guy's level."

"Can all five members of Team Kaijudo generation please come to the Center Stage at this time?"

"That's our cue." C.J. said. "Hey, whatever happened to Karon and Dylan?"

Suddenly a Hispanic teen dressed in a white shirt and a gray and blue sweater, jeans and sneakers bolted past them, followed by a Middle Eastern teen wearing an open white button-down shirt with a Black t-shirt under it, jeans and sneakers, the white shirt having Japanese Hiragana go down the side of it in red lettering.

"Found him." The Middle Eastern teen said. "he got lost trying to make it back here.

"Come on, less talk, more accepting an awesome reward because our rookie pulled another miracle." The Hispanic teen said pointing to center stage. He then turned and bolted.

"What's gotten into Dylan?" C.J. asked Karon.

Karon shrugged his shoulders. "Sugar rush?"

"Sure, I'll buy it." Jake nodded with Jamie and Sarina agreeing. They followed the hyped teen over to the center platform where they accepted their rewards.

"The Prize for winning the tournament is each member chooses one of five of the 'Elemental Comets,' in addition to having their team rank upgraded."

C.J. looked at the case and realized that they were all Single Civilization Vortex Evolution Creatures.

"Sweet, I call the Ice Comet." Dylan swiped the card from the case, while Jake took the Shining Comet, Karon, the Shadow Comet, and Jamie the Flame comet, Leaving C.J. with only one choice: The Ground Comet.

"These five Duelists are now eligible for more privileges, such as having access to the B-Block Cards up to Set #23 outside tournament use. Their road to becoming Kaijudo Masters will only get tougher, but that's what makes DCA Duelist stronger. We have more activities opened for this weekend, such as famous S-Ranks coming here to sign autographs, and also teach dueling classes for those inspired duelist the audience today. So we hope to see you all tomorrow morning for the real shows to begin. Until then, enjoy the festivities as he have Musical Guests Linkin Park, Selena Gomez, and Lady Gaga, and all the way from Japan, ONE OK ROCK, singing the top voted song for the Tournament: Riot!"

The crowd clapped as they started to make their way outside.

"Good Job as always you guys." D-Max said as he shook all of their hands. "You guys never cease to amaze me; especially you, Chris. Mr. Roman speaks highly of you. He told me that you're going to be a true Kaijudo Duelist someday."

"He really said that?" C.J. asked feeling honored.

D-MAX nodded. "And Mr. Roman's words always came true, so I'm putting faith in you all to give us many more demonstrations of dueling like you did here and back at the NYC Duel Circuit."

"Will do…" Jamie replied.

"Glad to hear it then." D-MAX smirked. "Now then, I gotta go and handle things outside. You guys are more than welcomed to join."

"Thanks, for the invite. We'll be out there later." C.J. replied.

"No problem, and once again, Congratulations on winning."

D-MAX ran off the stage and headed to the exit to make it outside.

"I'm tired." C.J. yawned. "I'm heading back to the hotel room to rest a bit before I go to the party."

"OK then, we'll see you there then." Jamie replied. "I'll call you if you're missing something awesome."

"Yeah, I got it. At least call me when ONE OK ROCK starts playing." C.J. joked. "No seriously, that's like my favorite J-Rock Band."

Jamie nodded. "Will do; for now, go rest."

"Thanks… See you guys later."

C.J. walked to another entrance that lead to the hotel a block over, where the Dueling Club was staying at, while the remaining members went off to the party outside.

* * *

><p>Marcus stood up in the stands, watching C.J. walk off. He pressed a button on his hidden Bluetooth.<p>

"Observation complete..." Marcus talked into it. "I however failed to retrieve the Gear from him.

"_But he does have it yes?"_

Marcus nodded. "He revealed the Gear on his first turn. Should I go after him now?"

"_No, Wait for Vanessa to arrive. I've deployed her to assist you in splitting him up."_

"Eh! Why her? You know we don't get along!"

"_Which is exactly why I did it, so you two fools could learn to work together. Just make sure that he stays as far from his team as possible. Once that happens, Kill him, and take the Gear from him. The Planets have already begun shifting, it's only a matter of time before it'll be time for his awakening…"_

"Roger that, Marcus Out." He pressed the button on his Bluetooth again as he slid his ID across his case, sprouting his deck. The Front card was a Fire Civilization card with 3 Evolution Patters printed on the card.

"Mars, the Blazing Supernova… Let's begin the hunt." He spread his deck open and drew a Cross Gear, one that resembled Roller Blades." He set the deck back in his case, all but that one card, as his hand sparked Red Kaijudo Energy.

"Fire Blades: Cross Over!"

The Card sparked up as he tossed it into the air, the card turned into a red data stream that surrounded his feet, causing the Cross gear to materialize around his ankles downward, until they completely covered.

Marcus suddenly disappeared and reappeared at the door which C.J. left out of in a half second. "Let the Hunt begin…"

* * *

><p>Elsewhere at JAXA a scientist types in his computer, recording data from a satellite orbiting the red Planet from quite a distance. He looked at it, and saw something odd. Like a Red light, radiating off the planet…<p>

The scientist suddenly had a flashback of something like that happening in the past, and suddenly got the sick feeling that what just happened wasn't a coincidence…

He ran out the room to report his findings as the Planet mars flash the red light once again…

[END]


	2. Rise of NOVA

"Good Job as always you guys." D-Max said as he shook all of their hands. "You guys never cease to amaze me; especially you, Chris. Mr. Roman speaks highly of you. He told me that you're going to be a true Kaijudo Duelist someday."

"He really said that?" C.J. asked feeling honored.

D-MAX nodded. "And Mr. Roman's words always came true, so I'm putting faith in you all to give us many more demonstrations of dueling like you did here and back at the NYC Duel Circuit."

"Will do…" Jamie replied.

"Glad to hear it then." D-MAX smirked. "Now then, I gotta go and handle things outside. You guys are more than welcomed to join."

"Thanks, for the invite. We'll be out there later." C.J. replied.

"No problem, and once again, Congratulations on winning."

D-MAX ran off the stage and headed to the exit to make it outside.

"I'm tired." C.J. yawned. "I'm heading back to the hotel room to rest a bit before I go to the party."

"OK then, we'll see you there then." Jamie replied. "I'll call you if you're missing something awesome."

"Yeah, I got it. At least call me when ONE OK ROCK starts playing." C.J. joked. "No seriously, that's like my favorite J-Rock Band."

Jamie nodded. "Will do; for now, go rest."

"Thanks… See you guys later."

C.J. walked to another entrance that lead to the hotel a block over, where the Dueling Club was staying at, while the remaining members went off to the party outside.

Marcus stood up in the stands, watching C.J. walk off. He pressed a button on his hidden Bluetooth.

"Observation complete..." Marcus talked into it. "I however failed to retrieve the Gear from him.

"_But he does have it yes?"_

Marcus nodded. "He revealed the Gear on his first turn. Should I go after him now?"

"_No, Wait for Vanessa to arrive. I've deployed her to assist you in splitting him up."_

"Eh! Why her? You know we don't get along!"

"_Which is exactly why I did it, so you two fools could learn to work together. Just make sure that he stays as far from his team as possible. Once that happens, Kill him, and take the Gear from him. The Planets have already begun shifting; it's only a matter of time before it'll be time for his awakening…"_

"Roger that, Marcus: Out." He pressed the button on his Bluetooth again as he slid his ID across his case, sprouting his deck. The Front card was a Fire Civilization card with 3 Evolution Patters printed on the card.

"Mars, the Blazing Supernova… Let's begin the hunt." He spread his deck open and drew a Cross Gear, one that resembled Roller Blades. He set the deck back in his case, all but that one card, as his hand sparked Red Kaijudo Energy.

"Fire Blades: Cross Over!"

The Card sparked up as he tossed it into the air, the card turned into a red data stream that surrounded his feet, causing the Cross gear to materialize around his ankles downward, until they completely covered.

Marcus suddenly disappeared and reappeared at the door which C.J. left out of in a half second. "Let the Hunt begin…"

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Rise of NOVA<p>

* * *

><p>20 minutes after the Finale of the Tournament, the Parking Lot was filled with entertainment as the DCA's after party kept the fans out for a little longer. Carnival Booths were set up through the parking lot and the streets making Traffic detour as the DCA closed it off for the block party.<p>

Jamie and the three remaining boys enjoyed themselves with the various activities. Well Dylan wasn't so enthusiastic…

"Finally calmed down there?" Karon asked.

Dylan shook his head. "Last time I drink 4 cups of Coffee in a row, Way too much caffeine."

Jamie nodded and opened her mouth for the cotton candy to enter. "Could've told you that;"

D-MAX ran up to the stage as the Crowd applauded the opening music acts. "Thank you all for sticking around for the After Party. Are you guys having a good time so far?" He held his mic towards the building crowd who replied with their screams of excitement.

"OK then, let's keep this party going, ladies and Gentlemen; Without further ado please give a warm welcome to our Special Guest all the way from Japan, ONE OK ROCK!" D-Max announced as he jumped off the stage.

"Guess it's time to call C.J. then." Jamie reached for her cellphone and scrolled down the list to find his number.

"Well isn't that sweet of you." Jake commented.

"Well why shouldn't I be? He's my boyfriend." Jamie replied as if she wasn't embarrassed to say that. "Hey there, you're favorite band's about to start-… Hey are you OK…? C.J., You there…?"

The trio of guys looked at Jamie who looks petrified.

"C.J…?" Jamie repeated, feeling tears in her eyes. "This isn't funny, answer me!"

Suddenly an explosion was heard towards the Hotel where they were staying at. Afterward the loud roar of a Serpent-like creature echoed from the area, instilling fear to all who heard it.

"What the…Whatever that was it sounds massive!" Dylan exclaimed.

"C.J.!" Jamie screamed into her phone. What she got in reply was a busy signal which made her tears flow.

"I have a bad feeling…" Jake mentioned. "Let's get a move on."

As the four of them began to run, they were stopped by a mysterious girl.

"Sorry, but I can't let you pass." She told them. She was about their age, dirty blonde hair and emerald green earrings, wearing a Black Blazer and Skirt with a yellow Shirt. She removed her black Sunglasses and started them now, her eyes a Gold color.

"Who are you?" Jamie's anger snapped.

"Vanessa Strider… You must be Jamie Martin… You have something that belongs to me. Kettou Da…!" Vanessa's hand sparked up Green and Yellow Lightning…

* * *

><p><strong><em>[15 minutes earlier…]<em>**

* * *

><p>C.J. made it to his hotel room and plopped onto the bed. "Man today was fun."<p>

Tsume and Flare materialized onto the bed, both nodding.

"Surprised that you sent 'it' to mana first turn though…" Flare commented.

"Why's that, I couldn't use it that early in the duel anyway. C.J. unlocked his deck case and skimmed through the deck, finding Prominence Catastrophe.

"I find it odd that the Avatars gave these to us."

"We decided that it'd be best to leave it in the hands of people we trust." Flare replied.

Tsume yawned. "I wish I was at the carnival."

Flare turned to him. "Well you're yawning so maybe you need to take a catnap.

"I'm not a cat anymore…" Tsume glared.

"Oh yeah I forgot." Flare smiled.

"Tsume, leave her alone." C.J. said skimming through his deck. "Flare stop messing with Tsume."

The two creatures gave each other one final glare before turning heads.

C.J.'s cellphone went off as he reached for it, reading the text afterward.

"Dude get down here, you're missing all the fun. Oh and Jamie's missing you lol." – Jake.

"Well, looks like I'm going to the carnival."

"Really…? We've only been here for two minutes." Flare commented.

"But I'm bored now, so why not?"

"Can't argue with that; OK then, let's go."

Flare and Tsume returned to the deck case and C.J. slid it back. He hopped off his bed and left the room.

Making it down to the lobby, he makes his way to the entrance, but is stopped by Marcus.

"Well, funny running into you here." Marcus said.

"Hey Marcus, what's up?" C.J. asked.

"Oh nothing, I had my fill of the party and I was heading back to my room. But now that you're here, wanna have a quick rematch?"

"A Rematch…?" C.J. asked, surprised by Marcus getting straight to the point.

"Yeah, a 'no hard feelings, friendly' rematch…" He smirked. "There's a K-Terminal over there if you're in."

C.J. looked over to his left and saw the two Duelists leave the K-Terminal, which sat in the waiting area.

"Guess it can't hurt." C.J. shrugged his shoulders. He started to walk over to the terminal.

"Great, glad to hear it." Marcus strapped on his Red Glove as it sparked slightly with Red and Black Lightning.

* * *

><p>"DUEL START!" The two announced as the shields materialized in the terminal.<p>

Marcus started setting Darkness mana and tapping it. "I Generate: Shadow Protector."

The Silver evil-looking armor materialized through an amethyst mana crystal.

C.J. drew and set Fire mana. "I end my turn."

Marcus drew and set Fire mana next. "I end as well."

C.J. drew and set Nature Mana. "I Summon Paconeco, the Dream Ruler.

The little white Dreammate materialized on C.J.'s side of the K-Terminal, receiving a snicker from Marcus.

Marcus drew and set mana once again. "I Summon Kira, Dragoon Flautist."

The trio of mana crystals materialized and combined to form a red creature, the resemblance of a Humanoid Fire bird, wielding an ancient flute.

"Kira makes my entire Tyranoid creatures cost one less to summon." Marcus told C.J.

"Tyranoids…? Aren't they called Tyranno Drakes?"

"In the Japanese Language they're called Tyranno Drakes, but in the English game, the DCA calls them Tyranoids, as they resemble a mix between Dragons and Dinosaurs. Just a little heads up." Marcus explained. I end my turn.

C.J. nodded and drew. "Too bad that it'll take more than that to stop me..." He set mana and tapped all three.

"I summon Cocco Lupia, Let's go Flare!" C.J. summoned Cocco who stared down Kira.

"I'm gonna go on a limb and say that you're gonna summon Dolzark next turn aren't you?"

C.J. smirked. "Only one way to find out… Paconeco, break his shields!"

Paconeco waved his septer and created a tree with it as the tree uprooted one of the shields, crushing it with the vines.

Marcus took the broken shield and smirked. "Well I guess we just found out. Shield Trigger: Hell Scrapper, destroy your two creatures."

Paconeco and Cocco Lupia were swallowed by the scrapper, leaving C.J. disappointed.

Marcus drew and set mana. "I summon Braveheart Dragoon and Endbringer Dragoon."

The four mana crystals split between themselves, the Fire becoming a red reptilian-looking humanoid with black horns, as the Darkness crystals formed into a red-eyed white reptilian creature wielding a purple blade twice its size.

"Kira's a great asset to Tyranoid Duelists such as myself…" Marcus said as the three creatures roared in agreement. "I end my turn."

C.J. drew and set mana. "I end…" He said reluctantly.

Marcus smirked and drew his next card, setting it in mana. "I end as well.

C.J. drew and set mana. "I summon Terradragon Regarion."

Regarion materialized and roared to announce his arrival.

Marcus drew and smirked. His hand started to spark up, much to C.J.'s surprise.

"Arise, King of the Tyrannoids…" He tapped his current five mana. "Killer Zechs Dragoon!" Marcus set the card on the table, his hand sparking wildly afterward as the Bright red Dragoon rose into the K-Terminal with such power. It's roar made the other creatures pastorate themselves before it.

"Fortunately for me, since I have Kira in my Battle Zone, I don't have to lose mana. However, its bad for you that Kira's here…"

"Why's that?" C.J. asked.

"When Kira is present in the Battle Zone, Killer Zechs gets the gift of Speed Attacking. He breaks two, and my other creatures break the last three. Easy as pie… Ike!"

EndBringer and Braveheart started it off, slashing two shields to bits, as Kira followed by Zech did away with the last three.

C.J. collected all of the shields, only one Octillion Force triggering. It was enough for this situation.

"Shield Trigger X: Octillion Force cross onto Regarion!"

Regarion received the armor as Marcus handed the turn over.

C.J. drew his card, the disappointment in his draw ever bitterer. "Gaia… no use if I don't have mana to summon you." He set the card in mana.

"Good Game Marcus." C.J. nodded.

Marcus drew his next card and grew an evil smirk. His hand charged violently, revealing the purple lighting now as well. "Honestly if I knew beating you this easily, I would've taken that Catastrophe Gear from you during the Tournament…"

The room started to shake as the creatures materialized behind Marcus.

"Holy… The creatures…"

"Yes, they're real alright." Marcus confirmed as the hotel guess ran frantically. "But that's not all."

Marcus tapped all five mana and held his card up.

"Awaken, the Phoenix of Mars: Galaxy Vortex Evolution!"

C.J. grew wide-eyed hearing those three words. "Galaxy… Vortex Evolution…?"

"Mars, the Blazing Supernova!" The trio of Tyranoids slid on top one another as Marcus set the creature on the stack.

Behind him, Braveheart and Endbringer turned into energy orbs that were absorbed by Zechs. The creature roared loudly as it itself turned into a crimson orb, resembling the Planet Mars. The planet-like orb cracked in various places, serpent-like tentacles sprouting from them. The planet finally broke into pieces as the serpents were revealed to be connected to the shoulders of the Creature, resembling a Tyranoid itself.

"That thing's unreal…" C.J. started in awe. "How… how can this get worse?"

C.J. cellphone started to go off.

"Hello? Oh hey, what's sup?" C.J. answered. "Um… listen, now's not a good time… Oh crap…"

"Mars… Todomeda…"

Mars roared and its serpent heads charged flames in their mouths that shot towards C.J.

* * *

><p>Outside, Mars' Screech and the explosion from the attack could be seen as Jamie and Vanessa lined up at the Terminal to begin their duel.<p>

"Looks like Marcus succeeded…" Vanessa turned back.

"Succeeded in what?" Jamie snarled.

"Defeating the Terra Knight… Or rather, _destroying_ him…"

The four of them grew pale at those words as Jamie's anger skyrocketed.

"What the hell did you do?" She screamed, her Kaijudo Energy erupting.

Vanessa smirked and set light mana. "The same thing I'm going to do to you…"

* * *

><p>Back at JAXA HQ, the very scientist races over to the office of Dr. Tachibana as he banged hard on the door.<p>

"It's me, We have an emergency!"

Tachibana, now a bit older yawned and walked over to open the door.

"Shotaro, what's going on?"

Shotaro made his way into the room and jumped on Tachibana's computer and found his current findings on the PC.

"Mars has been summoned…" Shotaro replied as he pointed to the flashing planet. "After almost fifteen years of hiding… He's finally making his move…"

"So what do you want to do Shotaro…?" Tachibana asked. "You have the most experience of the Creature world out of any personnel here. I'm leaving you in charge of this."

Shotaro nodded. "I have some people in mind…"

* * *

><p>"Crap my cellphone!" C.J. exclaimed as he looked at the small burning fireball of metal. As it turned out, C.J. survived the blast, surprisingly. Despite it being close-blank he remained safe. He looked over a few feet where Marcus and Mars stood, Marcus annoyed that C.J. survived the blast.<p>

"There's no way that you could've survived an attack like that…" Marcus snarled.

"I could say the same thing. What just saved me though…?" C.J. looked around.

"_It was Me, Terra Knight…" _ A mysterious voice suddenly spoke.

C.J. looked at the ground, his cards scattered about, once again not being burned by the flames around him. One card glowed with a green aura as C.J. flipped it over. "Gaia the Ground Comet…?"

The card materialized in front of C.J., despite him not summoning it.

The Giant Deer-like creature was made of wood, all except its neck up. covered in Moss and emeralds in its legs, the Deer had two long red antlers that held two small moons on them. In addition the two Rainbow Evo Crystals circled around him.

"I am known as: Gaia, the Ground Comet. The Guardian appointed by the Soul Phoenix to guard over the 'Prominence Catastrophe Cross gear'..." The creature explained. "In other words, if you intend on stealing it… It'll be over my dead body!" The giant creature roared.

Marcus shielded himself from the wind brought through the roar and couldn't help but smile in excitement. "This just keeps getting better and better. Unfortunately… I have orders and I need to head back."

Mars disappeared as Marcus turned around.

"Hey wait!" C.J. called out. "Just who are you?"

Marcus laughed lightly and suddenly disappeared behind C.J. he threw a punch at C.J. to which he reacted out of instinct.

"_So fast…" _he said to himself.

"The name's Marcus Griffin… AKA The Blazing Supernova of the NOVA Organization…"

"NOVA… Organization…?" C.J. repeated as he looked down.

"Fire blades?"

Marcus smirked and kneed C.J. in the stomach before punching him back to the ground.

"This isn't the last you'll see of me. I'm coming for that gear. Master Ryuusei needs it's power… Until then."

Marcus disappeared, as the emergency workers spammed the streets soon after.

Gaia disappeared after Marcus left, as C.J. got himself up and collected his cards.

"You OK?" Tsume talked through the case.

"Yeah… I'll manage. But I have a question about these Gears; and this Comet Creature…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>[Kaijin No Sekai, around the same time…]<em>**

* * *

><p>A black Spaceship broke into the clouds of the Light Civilization as it flew in formation of the Gran Gure Space Guardians that flew overhead. The Ship was long and jagged spewing blue flames from its engine. In the inside, the control room of the ship was filled with men and women wearing a similar Black Blazer that Vanessa wore. In the center of the room sat a man, in his mid-forties dressed in a uniform signifying his commanding position. His blazer wore different military medals and his black and grey hair mixed complimented his black eyes hidden by his sunglasses.<p>

"Mars has awakened, and Venus will very soon…" The commanding officer said folding his hands and crossing his legs. "After all these years… I'll get my revenge on the world that abandoned me…"

[END]


	3. My Guardian

Chapter 3: My Guardian

"Looks like Marcus succeeded…" Vanessa turned back.

"Succeeded in what?" Jamie snarled.

"Defeating the Terra Knight… Or rather, _destroying_ him…"

The four of them grew pale at those words as Jamie's anger skyrocketed.

"What the hell did you do?" She screamed, her Kaijudo Energy erupting.

Vanessa smirked and set light mana. "The same thing I'm going to do to you… I Summon La Ura Giga, Sky Guardian."

La Ura materialized inside the K-Terminal, quietly floating.

Jamie drew and set Darkness Mana. "I Generate Slayer Scythe!"

The Dark Scythe-like Weapon generated on Jamie's side.

Vanessa drew and set Nature mana next. "I cast Faerie life and gain an extra mana." She flipped the top card as the small little fairy materialized with the colorless crystal. It turned Topaz as Vanessa set the Gran Gure, Space Guardian into mana. "I use my last mana to summon a second La Ura Giga."

The second La Ura Giga materialized Next to the first who waited patiently for Jamie to summon a creature. The scythe hissed at the Twin ships, but they paid it no mind.

Jamie drew and set Fire mana next. "I Summon Suza's Gale Rider."

A fireball materialized into the battle zone reforming into a Humanoid Fire Bird-like creature riding on a motorcycle, both made up of bright orange flames.

Vanessa smirked. "If that's the best you can do, then you're wasting your time. She drew and set mana. "I Summon Pala Olesis, Morning Guardian."

And the third Guardian, Pala Olesis materialized on Vanessa's side.

"What's with all of the blockers?" Jamie asked. "If that's all you're gonna do, then this shouldn't last long." She drew her card and set it. "I Summon Smashblow Dragoon."

The Red Tyranoid materialized dressed in ragged clothing and armed with silver-colored spiked brass knuckles.

"Suza's Gale Rider gives my Tyranoids Speed Attacker, Smashblow, Break her shields Ike!"

Smashblow cracked his knuckles and ran towards the Trio of blockers. He flipped over them and spin kicked the shield to bits.

Vanessa picked the broken shield up and held the card in her hand. "Shield Trigger: Natural Snare, send Smashblow to mana."

"Crap…" Jamie said annoyed as the vines from the broken shards turned him into mana.

Vanessa drew and set mana. "I end my turn."

Jamie drew, hoping to get make up for that sudden upset. She set mana and tapped all five. "I Summon Bombraid Dragoon."

The five mana crystals, 3 Fire and 2 darkness materialized and combined into a Tyranoid with purple and gold knight-like armor, wielding a sword with a glowing purple blade and a skeleton torso on the hilt.

"I end my turn." Jamie said.

Vanessa drew and set mana once again. "I end my turn." She crossed her arms, not able to do anything at the moment.

Jamie drew and set mana. "Let's go Blaze. Arise through the Flames of Justice: Bolshack Dragon!"

Bolshack Dragon Roared as he materialized into the Battle Zone, raring to get ready to attack the opposition.

Vanessa drew her card and smirked. "Finally…" she tapped all six mana and slid her trio of Guardians together.

"Awaken, the Phoenix of Venus: Venus, the Shining Supernova!"

Vanessa called out as he set the GV Evo creature onto her stack of Guardians.

The K-terminal shined bright as her hand sparked violently. Jamie and the others shielded their eyes from the bright light as they saw the creature materialize behind her. A huge Golden colored creature, materialized, Purple Wings expanding throughout its body as the trio of Evo Crystals lined up in a triangular pattern on its body.

"What in the…?" Jamie stared in awe at the creature. She lit her hand with Kaijudo Energy as her creatures materialized behind her.

"Honestly… It's hard to believe that you defeated the Death Phoenix…" Vanessa yawned. "Venus, Triple Break!"

Venus charged the orange energy ball on it's lower half and unleashed the beam on the three shields, each shattering to bits.

"Not so fast…" Jamie smirked. "Shield Trigger: Terror Pit! I send Venus to the Grave!"

"Meteorburn!" Vanessa commanded Venus. Venus detached one of it's Evo Crystals which turned into a shield that blocked the dark hands of the Terror Pit.

"What the…?" Jamie said in shock. "That thing, can Meteorburn?"

"That's right. When Venus would leave the Battle Zone, I can remove one card from under it and send it to the grave to keep her in the Battle Zone.

"Dang…" Jamie said.

"It's your turn…" Vanessa told her.

Jamie drew and looked at her new card. "I summon Sag, Panel of Eradication, and Cross Slayer Scythe onto Suza!"

Suza grabbed the Scythe and twirled it in the air, ready to charge as the thin purple armor of Sag materialized with a light blue aura.

"Turning your creatures into slayers so you can kill Venus…" Vanessa figured out.

"Suza, Attack Venus!"

"Meteorburn!" Vanessa replied, sliding the Second Pala from under it.

Suza rode and the scythe, but the second Evo crystal blocked it, and in return, Suza received the Laser blast.

"Bombraid, Attack Venus!"

"Meteorburn!" Finally she slid Pala from under Venus, her last card.

The Final Crystal generated a shield and the attack was blocked.

"I End my turn." Jamie replied. "Next time I'll destroy Venus…"

"We'll see." Vanessa drew her card. "I summon Gran Gure, Space Guardian."

Gran Gure materialized behind Vanessa, the 9000 powered blocker ready to defend the Phoenix behind her.

"Venus, Break her last two shields."

Venus obeyed and shattered the last two shields.

The shields shattered as they generated in Jamie's hand. Jamie smiled widely. "This must be my lucky day… Shield Trigger: Terror Pit! Destroy Venus!"

The Dark hands went in for Round 2 and destroyed the Supernova much to Vanessa's devastation.

"Also, Shield Trigger: Crimson Commune!" I chose the Race: Armored Dragons!"

Bolshack flew into the air and landed into the cockpit of a turret cannon.

"For every card of the chosen race, I can destroy one of your creatures with blocker. Bolshack, Destroy Gran Gure!"

Bolshack Locked on and wiped the Space Guardian, clean off the earth.

Vanessa wasn't thrilled. She hated lucky moments such as these from her opponents. She toyed with Jamie far enough.

Jamie drew and tapped all seven of her mana. "Now then, let's really get this party started. Rise within the Blazing Inferno: Super Blaze Dragoon Bolgalshack!"

Jamie threw the card on top of Bolshack dragon as Blaze shot into the air and accepted the red Evo Crystal. After a bright red flash of light he returned as a Dragon-like Warrior creature dressed in Red, Silver and Gold Armor. His Steed, a Four legged Dragon was dressed in similar armor. His Gold Wings sprouted twin serpent heads as did his shoulder joints. Finally he wielded a gold blade shaped like a helix in his right hand, and a caliber-like gold blade in his left.

Jamie smiled in confidence as the Dragon Roared.

* * *

><p><em>[One Week Earlier]<em>

"Come on, this Card's Sick." C.J. protested. "You gotta use it."

"Why? I don't use Tyranoids in my decks, let alone darkness. Having a card like that wouldn't work for me." Jamie denied. She and C.J. decided to help each other with deck building for the coming tournament in the week that followed, so the duo found them in Jamie's living room, their decks scattered.

"Oh come on, expand your horizons." C.J. told her. "Besides, what do you have to lose?"

"In order for me to use a strong card like this I'd have to rebuild my deck from scratch."

"Oh come on, please…?" C.J. begged. "Do it for me, you owe me!"

"Whoa how do I owe you?" Jamie retorted.

"Really…?" C.J. returned. "I saved your life twice, how about that?"

Jamie glared. "Point taken…" She picked the card up and stared at it. "Still though…"

"Jamie…" C.J. started.

"What's up?"

"Use it… Consider it… you're Guardian whenever I'm not around." C.J. smiled.

Jamie turned bright red. "My… Guardian…?"

C.J. realized what he said and tried to bring it back. "I didn't mean it like that! I only meant… I want that card to bring you hope in that it can help you overcome anything that gets thrown at you… I mean come on; we've been through a lot together these months; and I've seen you overcome everything that came your way. So if I'm not around, I want this card to be around to help you overcome your challenge."

Jamie's face was still red, but she accepted. "OK…"

Jason walks into the living room to grab his sneakers, walking out afterward.

"If you're gonna kiss her you might as well do it now before the moment passes C.J." Jason gave him the heads up.

C.J. and Jamie both glared at Jason as he walked away laughing.

* * *

><p><em>[Present Time]<em>

"With him by my side… I can overcome anything thrown at me… Bolgalshack: Double Break!"

Bolgalshack roared and charged, slashing the shields with his swords.

"There's no chance that I'm letting you walk away alive…" Vanessa snarled. "Shield trigger: Natural Snare, Take down Bolgalshack!"

Bolgalshack was constricted and taken away, shocking Jamie.

Vanessa drew and tapped 3 mana. " I cast: Live and Breathe. Whenever I summon a creature this turn, I can search my deck for a creature of the same name and put it into the battle zone." She taps her remaining 3.

"I summon Pala Olesis. And then I search my deck for a second Pala Olesis."

The twin creatures materialized behind her.

"I end my turn."

Jamie drew and tapped seven out of her nine mana. "I summon Mirror Force Dragon!"

A Gold armored dragon with a sword in one hand and a Gatling gun in the other materialized behind her.

"Mirror Force gives all my non-dragon creatures power attacker +4000. Sag, Break her Shield!"

Sag ran and sidestepped the blockers breaking the shield.

"Next turn, it's over…" Jamie said, causing Mirror Force and Sag to roar.

"We'll just see about that." Vanessa drew her card. "I summon Gran Gure, Space Guardian."

Gran Gure Materialized alongside the twin palas.

"Pala attacks Sag!"

Pala curled into a ball and tackled Sag into data.

"Try getting through now..."

"Gladly…" Jamie replied drawing. _"None of her creatures can attack me directly, so as long as I play my moves right, this duel's over…"_

Jamie tapped five of her mana. "I summon Bombraid Dragoon, and using his effect I bring back Suza from the grave!"

Bombraid materialized and stabbed the ground, causing the data stream to spew into the flaming Suza.

"With two blockers, there's no way you can't get hit. Bombraid Break her shield!"

Bombraid jumped into the air and came down on the shield, awaiting Mirror force to make the final attack.

"Mirror Force, Todome-"

"Shield trigger: Valiant Spark! I tap Mirror Force Dragon!"

The electricity shot from the shards and paralyzed Mirror force.

"No big, just one turn. You're creatures still can't finish me off…"

"Really now…?" Vanessa drew and her hand sparked up. She flipped the card over and scared Jamie senseless. "Still think my creatures can't attack?"

"You… had two of them?" Jamie tried to speak as she stared hard at the Second Venus card.

"Galaxy Vortex Evolution!"

The two palas and Gran Gure fused together to become Venus once again as the creature looked down at Jamie.

"Venus… Todomeda!"

Jamie shielded herself as the creature charged it's cannon. The blast ignited as it beelines towards Jamie.

"I'll see you soon… C.J…" Jamie smiled with her tears.

* * *

><p>"Cross Over!"<p>

Suddenly a blur swept Jamie off of her feet as the blast hit the ground, causing the quiet trio of duelist to shield themselves.

"What in the…?" Jake started.

Jamie opened her eyes, realizing that she was in someone's arms. She looked up and Saw C.J. holding her.

"C.J… You're alive…" Jamie couldn't resist to smile.

"Sorry about earlier… I ran into trouble…" C.J. said, breathing heavily. "Oh and I learned a new trick; check out my feet!"

Jamie looked down and saw the Fire Blades on his feet.

"Are those…?"

"Yup, that's a Cross Gear. I'll explain later."

Vanessa smirked. "Looks like that idiot screwed up…" Vanessa dropped to one knee breathing heavily as the creatures disappeared. "Summoning Venus Twice was a risk taker…" She told herself.

"Hey!" C.J. called Vanessa out. "Are you part of the NOVA Organization?"

Vanessa smirked and got up. "Why yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Why do you want the Catastrophe Gears…?" C.J. asked.

Vanessa crossed her arms. "I'm not gonna spoil it for you… You'll just have to figure it out yourself." She draws Gran Gure from her deck and summons it, jumping on its back. "This is only the calm before the storm…"

Gran Gure rose up and flew off into the distance.

The KG Team watched as she shot away from the area.

"Um C.J...? mind putting me down now…?" Jamie asked him.

C.J. realized that he was still Holding Jamie and put her down. "Sorry…"

Jamie then suddenly latched onto him tears coming out of her eyes profusely. "Don't ever scare me like that again! I thought you were killed…"

C.J. didn't know what to say but he returned the hug. "I'm sorry…"

* * *

><p>"Excuse me…"<p>

The trio turned around to see the Scientist Shotaro Inoue approach them.

"Are you Team Kaijudo Generation…?" he asked them.

"Well us three and the lovely couple 10 feet from us." Dylan said pointing over. "Who are you though…?"

Shotaro cleared his throat. "Right; my name is Dr. Shotaro Inoue."

"Shotaro Inoue?" Jake repeated.

"The astronaut who was a part of the '2000 Black Hole' incident." Karon clarified.

Shotaro nodded. "I was able to get in touch with my son Shinji, who told me about what you guys have done concerning incidents with the Creature World."

"OK…" Jake nodded.

"The Creature World is in danger. An organization called NOVA has surfaced within the Creature world and is planning on something, their targets being the Catastrophe Gears."

"So that's why C.J. asked the girl about it."

"Can you help us?" Shotaro asked.

The trio turned around to the duo as they walked over. "Are we gonna save the world again?" C.J. asked.

"Don't have a choice." Dylan replied.

C.J. shrugged his shoulders. "OK whenever you guys are ready."

"Very optimistic…" Jake commented.

"Dude, we already did it twice, 3rd time's not gonna kill… _May,_ not kill us."

"In that case please follow me." Shotaro said confidently. He pulled up his jacket sleeve and typed in a code on the wrist computer. Light blue and white lightning started to spark in the air, as a portal suddenly opened up.

"The scientists at JAXA have been working on a Teleportation portal for traveling beyond certain distances. Fortunately it's in the final stages of production." He explained.

"So what will it do?" Jamie asked.

"It'll take us directly to the JAXA HQ." Shotaro nodded. "Just follow me…"

Tsume materialized on C.J. Shoulder. "Ready to kick butt again…?"

C.J. smirked. "Let's Run Wild."

C.J. turned to his team and they all nodded.

The five of them walked into the portal with Shotaro nodded. "Thank You…" he followed behind them…

[END]


	4. Legend of Thanatos

Chapter 4: Legend of Thanatos

After a very unique experience with JAXA's Teleportation technology, the six of them arrived Thousands of miles away in Japan. The teens couldn't help but take in every bit of technology in their young minds as what they saw was utterly mind-blowing.

"You seem surprised…" Shotarto told the group. "You've never seen this stuff before?"

The group of teens spun around and shook their heads almost in sync.

"I see…" Shotaro confirmed. "Well in that case, how about a tour?"

"I'm in." C.J. nodded. Jamie nodded as well.

"Definitely; this place is so insane I can't wait to see more stuff!" Dylan exclaimed, still having a nerd implosion.

Jake and Karon shrugged their shoulders, keeping in mind that they were here for a reason. They also figured that a few minutes wouldn't hurt anything.

"In that case, follow me." Shotaro took the teens and walked out of the room.

On the Security Camera, Tachibana watched the clip of them emerging out of the portal. He sighed and thought about Shotaro's Recruits. "He can't be serious…" he got up from his chair and threw his jacket on, walking out of his office.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the Kaijin No Sekai, Marcus and Vanessa knelt in front of the Captain of the Ship's throne as he stared the Duo down.<p>

"Mars… Venus…" He said coldly.

The two were afraid to look up; on top of that they didn't know what to reply with.

"I commend you for awakening your respected Planets… As of now, Both Mars and Venus are beginning to align."

"Thank you sir…" The two replied sort of relieved.

"However…" his tone didn't change. "This doesn't dismiss the fact that you failed to retrieve those Gears…"

"But sir;" Marcus looked up. "Those duelists aren't just ordinary People!"

"SILENCE…!" he yelled at Marcus who got quiet almost instantly. "I know exactly how powerful they are… I've resided in this world for fifteen Long years… I know the incident with Neo Bolshack Dragon, and the Vortex Wars between them and the Avatar of Doom… However, you are supposed to be _My Elite!_ I've trained you since you arrived in this world, to become the ones who will rule beside me in the new world. Thusly, Failure is NOT an option… Do I make myself clear…?"

Marcus and Vanessa nodded. "Yes sir."

Master Ryuusei nodded and crossed his legs and his arms. "Mercury… Your time has arrived."

"Really…? I just started on the 4th chapter of my new book. One of the new antagonists was just introduced."

Marcus and Vanessa turned their heads away from the doorway, as Michael Manning walked into the room. He had black hair, blue-rimmed glasses and was dressed in a blue shirt and black NOVA uniform as his companions. In his hand he carried a blue book with an ice shard – looking bookmark.

"Read on your own time." Master Ryuusei remarked.

"As you wish; I promise however that I will succeed where these two 'Geniuses' have not…"

"Why you little…!" Marcus jumped up to reach for Mike, who just smirked.

"Cross Over…" Mike said as a white dome-like structure blocked Marcus' path.

"Like it? It's a Cross gear that I stole off of some Cyber Lords on the beach; Like taking candy from a Baby." Mike smirked, his free hand sparking Blue lightning.

"Enough of this…!" Master Ryuusei shouted, thoroughly annoyed. "Just get out of my sight, all of you!"

Vanessa nodded, even though she didn't do anything in this situation. "Yes sir." She stood up and walked out of the room, not wanting to be associated with either Mike or Marcus, let alone be in her Master's line of fire when he lets loose on them.

Marcus and Mike went their separate ways as Master Ryuusei sighed. "Kids…"

* * *

><p>"Um, Dr. Inoue…" C.J. raised his hand as the group of teens began to wrap up.<p>

"Yes C.J.?"

"Mind telling us what's going on exactly; I mean… What are we going up against?"

"I could explain that…"

C.J. turned his attention to Tachibana who walked up behind Shotaro.

"You have some explaining to do…" Tachibana whispered in his ear.

"Greetings Team Kaijudo Generation; I am Doctor Keisuke Tachibana, Head Scientist JAXA, it's a pleasure to meet you."

C.J. nodded; "Pleasure to meet you as well sir."

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions as to why you're here. Follow me and I'll explain. That means you too Sho-kun."

Shotaro snickered. "I'm not a kid anymore; I'd wish you'd stop referring me by that."

* * *

><p>The group found themselves in Tachibana's office as he got to his desk and typed in a code which unlocked the video of Both Mars and Venus flashing in space, Venus glowing with a bright yellow light. He turns the screen over to show the group.<p>

"What's going on with the planets?" Dylan asked. "They're glowing."

"Which two specifically…" Tachibana asked.

The group of teens looked at the two flashing planets, when it finally hit C.J. and Jamie.

"Mars…" C.J. said.

"Venus…" Jamie added. "Those were the name of those Galaxy Vortex Evolution Creatures that we went up against!"

Tachibana nodded. "Exactly; the planets are awakening…"

"Awakening…?" Karon raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I should explain after all…" Shotaro cleared his throat. "As you pointed out, yes, I was one of the Astronauts from Fifteen years ago who survived the Black Hole Incident. But the reason why we survived… was because it was never a Black Hole to Begin with…

"Never a Black Hole…?" Jake repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, it was a literal gateway into what you know as the Kaijin No Sekai…" He confessed to them.

"You mean… You went into the Creature World?" C.J. realized.

"By Accident;" Shotaro added. "During a routine space expedition, the Portal suddenly opened and forcefully pulled us in. It was Four of us: Kengo Watanabe, Yuki Suzuki, Gentaro Kurosaki, and myself: Shotaro Inoue. When we arrived in the world, we were intercepted by the Natives, who spoke our Native Tongue of Japanese fluently along with English to our surprise. With our ship totaled beyond repair, they allowed us to stay with them until we were able to rebuild."

Shotaro walked over to the window and tugged the blinds a bit, looking outside. "The Nature Civilization is my favorite of the five. Full of peace and tranquility… The longer we stayed, the more opportunity we had to explore the Five Civilizations, each learning about the creatures that lived in this mysterious world. It was truly an unforgettable journey. However that's when tragedy struck us.

The mood of the room slowly shifted as one by one Team KG began to sense the depression coming from both Shotaro and Tachibana.

"Gentaro discovered what brought us there: Thanatos…"

"Thanatos…?" Jake asked. "Isn't that the Greek Mythological Personification of Death…?"

"It's different in the Creature World…" Tsume replied as he and Flare materialized from C.J.'s deck case.

"Thanatos is a legendary monster in the Kaijin No Sekai, believed to originate in this Universe, over 6,000 years ago." Flare added. "Legend has it that in the Beginning, there were two Beings, like a Yin/Yang relation. Thanatos was the Yin, Embodiment of Destruction, and the Yang, was Ixion, Embodiment of Flames. The two were in constant battle with each other, both evenly matched, and both unable to destroy the other. Ironically, with every battle, came a new object in their battle field called 'The Universe.' One battle created the Stars. Another Created planets, so on and so forth. Thanatos, ready to rid Ixion from the Universe, retrieved 9 planetary objects and turned them into its Supernova Warriors. The nine beings defeated Ixion, easily overpowering him. However, as a last ditch effort, he sealed himself and Thanatos with his remaining power, the ensuring explosion split one of the Planetary Objects, and they became the Core of the Kaijin no Sekai. With no power source, the Nine Supernovas fell, and became the nine Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Just to be safe, Ixion created five Guardians to make sure the Planets don't reawaken, and if they do, to be able to stop them.

C.J. pulled out his Ground Comet Card. "The Elemental Comets…"

Jake nodded. "That sounds just like what Brian told me when we dueled last time…

* * *

><p><strong>[Flashback]<strong>

Brian drew his card and laughed hysterically. "Oh, you're gonna to enjoy this." Brian put a mana card down as all eight of them tapped.

"Before I do this, I'll tell you a story: around 6,000 years ago, an unknown phenomenon caused our dimension to split, creating a second one. The second Dimension was known as: Kaijin no Sekai: The Creature World. The Kaijin no Sekai was a World with only one continent. On this continent, lived all different types of Creatures. The Fire Civilization was the industrial Country, the Water Civilization was the Metropolitan Utopia, Nature was the Tropical Paradise, the Light was the peace enforcing Government, and the Darkness was the Swamplands that experiments would take place if deemed, too dangerous.

**[End Flashback]**

* * *

><p>"The Prize at the tournament was the Elemental Comets right?" Shotaro asked.<p>

"They were actually." C.J. replied.

"It was a request by Mr. Roman." Shotaro confirmed.

"Mr. Roman?" Karon raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case then did he intend on us getting these in the first place?"

"Shortly after the tournament ended earlier, we found out about the planet Mars awakening. We got in touch with Mr. Roman and he specifically recommended Team Kaijudo Generation to aid us, since he and his Team, Kaijudo Monarch recommended you guys due to your efforts with the Neo Incident and the Vortex Wars." Tachibana explained.

"What happened to Gentaro…?" Jake brought the topic back up.

Shotaro's demeanor decreased again as he stared at the floor. "Gentaro learned about the Core of the Kaijin no Sekai and Thanatos. Attempting to awaken it, he betrayed all of us, and created an army of Creatures, with the same ideals as his. His lust of power, got the better of him; he was convinced that Thanatos called him to the Kaijin no Sekai to free him from his eternal prison; We thought he was going crazy; But that's when we realized…"

"Realized what?" Jamie spoke up.

"That Gentaro was long dead; Thanatos took over Gentaro's body, like a puppet, and controlled all of those creatures into searching for the only tools strong enough to cause a catastrophic meltdown: The Jewels of the Avatars."

The Five of them froze as Shotaro uttered those words.

Flare nodded. "That's the reason why we gave you five the Catastrophe Gears after the Incident with Drake. With NOVA making itself known while we were here on earth, we couldn't let that kind of power fall into their hands; Despite that, it ended up in Drake's hands. In a way, that was better; at least we knew where they were…"

"Do you know how Thanatos will Awaken?" C.J. asked. "Maybe we can stop them!"

"The Planets…" Shotaro admitted. "The awakening Planets are aligning. Once that happens it'll take the Five Gears to act like Keys to the Ignition, to unleash enough energy to break Ixion's seal. If you can somehow defeat all nine Supernovas, and keep the Gears from falling into their hands, we might have a chance at stopping them!"

Tsume smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Well then, when do we get started…"

"_How about now…?"_an unfamiliar voice echoed on the loudspeaker

An explosion suddenly went off out in the hallway as the group ran outside, covering their faces from the building smoke and flames.

"Everyone get out of here!" Tachibana ordered.

* * *

><p>The group and the other faculty ran to the nearest escape route and found themselves outside on the roof.<p>

"What the hell was that?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know…" Shotaro replied.

"And so, after the explosion occurred, the group found themselves OK, their clothes reeking of smoke. They look up, realizing that a Mysterious man stood before him, reading a book describing a similar situation to what they were facing that very moment. That fact alone made them feel uncomfortable, wondering who he was, let alone why his voice sounded so similar to the voice on the loudspeaker, seconds before the explosion. It was then one of them spoke up."

"Are you the one who caused the building fire?" C.J. asked.

"The man smirked and stopped reading, not moving his eyes from it. 'What if I am?' he asked calmly. 'Are you the ones who have what I'm looking for?'"

"You mean the Catastrophe Gears don't you; well you're not getting them!"

"The Man... turned the page of his book, seeing it coming to an end at this chapter. 'I see…' The man replied. I Guess I'll just duel you for the object then: Kettou Da…' How I hate cliffhangers; always make you wanting more, don't you agree?"

"Who are you…?" C.J. said, his hand sparking red and green lightning.

"I am Michael Manning; The Frozen Supernova of the NOVA Organization. I've come for the Neo Wave Catastrophe Cross Gear. I know one of you have it…" He turns to Dylan. "It's you isn't it?"

Dylan drew his deck and his hand sparked blue and yellow Lightning. You should know… It'll be a cold day in hell before I give this over to you…"

"Is that so…" Michael replied. "In that case, I'll make sure to not hold back then…" Michael's hand Sparked Blue, Yellow and Purple Lighting.

"Three Civilizations…?" C.J. realized.

Michael smirked. "This is over before it started…"

Dylan chuckled. "I couldn't agree more…"

Metal bars suddenly rose from under their feet as the floor under them pushed itself upward where the Half K-Terminal resided. Dylan and Michael set their decks on their respected sides as they used their Kaijudo Energy to generate their Five Shields.

"DUEL START!" they announced…

[END]


	5. The Kaijin No Sekai

Chapter 5: The Kaijin no Sekai

"I'll start." Dylan announced to his opponent as he set Light mana. "I end my turn.

Mike drew and set water mana. "I summon Aqua Guard."

He set the card onto the Terminal as Guard materialized, bringing along with it rain from the sky.

"Why did it start raining all of the sudden?" C.J. asked as he held his hand out to catch the falling drops.

"Might have something to do with the Kaijudo Energy those two are unleashing…" Karon answered. Being both Water Duelists I can see why.

"Kaijudo Energy can manipulate weather patterns?" C.J. asked. "Never heard that one before…

Dylan drew and set Water mana next I Summon Energion, Recharging Cyber Soldier!"

Now lightning started in the sky as a bolt shot down behind Dylan, creating a Giant yellow Robot.

"Cyborgs and Androids huh?" Mike guessed. "Techie." He drew his next card and set the Darkness mana.

"I Summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow."

Melnia materialized in one of the puddles behind Mike, crossing her arms.

Dylan drew his next card and set it in mana. "I Summon Skull Hunter, Osmosis Cyborg."

The three Mana crystals popped up from the puddles and reformed into a Blue egg-shaped Cyborg with a face resembling a Jack-o-lantern and an arm cannon similar to a Character from the 'Megaman' Series.

"I End my turn." Dylan said.

Mike drew and finally set Light mana, now having one of each. "I Summon Tajimal, Vizier of Aqua; Melnia, Break his shield ike!"

Melnia leaped into the air and slashed one of Dylan's shields to bits, as Dylan shielded himself from the shards.

"Not a chance; Shield Trigger X: I Generate Quick Defense and I cross it onto Skull Hunter!"

The orb of light materialized around the Cyborg as it readied itself to block the next attack.

"I end my turn." Mike said, giving Dylan the opportunity to make a counter.

Dylan drew and set another light mana. The Card began to radiate yellow light as Dylan smirked. "I Set Captain Mechaton in my Mana zone, and I Activate his Thrilling Three Ability!"

Dylan flipped the top three cards of his deck, revealing Skull Hunter, Plamilion, Mobile Stronghold and Energy Spiral. The two Cyborg Cards began to glow their respected colors as both Tajimal and Guard tapped.

"For each Cyborg revealed, one of your creatures tap, and since I got two, the two remaining ones tap. "I also generate Hydro Bazooka. Skull Hunter, break his shields Ike!"

Skull hunter locked onto Mike's shields and out three laser bullets through the teal-colored object as it shattered.

"Shield Trigger: Aqua Surfer, return Skull back to your hand."

Dylan snickered as he watched Surfer wash away his Cyborg.

Mike smirked. "Now now, no need to get upset; This chapter just started after all." He drew and set mana. "I Cast Eureka Charger and draw one card. And since it was a charger, it's sent to my mana." Mike moved the card to mana and drew the next card. He made a small smirk, delighted at what he drew. "I end my turn."

Dylan drew and set mana.

"Feeling that you're against the ropes and don't have a counter to get rid of my creatures?" Mike inquired.

Dylan sparked up. "How did you know that?"

Mike smirked. "I'm an avid reader… Everything through my eyes is a Story unfolding. Judging by your character, I can tell that you're trying to think of a way to rid of my creatures before I can do heavy damage."

Dylan snickered at that realization.

"With that said… It's your turn still." Mike told him.

Dylan looked at the remaining 4 cards in his hand and pulled one out of them.

"I Summon Skull Hunter back into the battle zone, and Cross Quick Defense onto it!"

Skull hunter materialized armed with the orb forming around it. on its back.

"I end my turn."

Mike nodded. "Seems to be the only thing you can do…" Mike drew and set the light card in mana. "I summon Aqua Guard."

The second Aqua Guard materialized through the water in the area, as Mike tapped the remaining five mana.

"Now it's over…" He slid his two Guards and Tajimal together.

"Awaken, the Phoenix of Mercury: Galaxy Vortex Evolution!" Mike held the card up as the stack began to glow.

"Not good!" Jamie said fearful.

"Mercury, the Frozen Supernova!" the card fell on top of the stack as Tajimal unleashed its tentacles on the unsuspecting Guards. Turning them into Data, Tajimal absorbed their power, rising into the air as the rain around it began to freeze up into snowflakes. The white dust swirled around Tajimal as it grew in size, reforming into a creature, White and Navy Blue in color; The very top of the body had the torso and head of a white humanoid-like creature with a mask over her face, as she wielded a bladed weapon, where as her body was monstrous, ice claws protruding throughout the body, and jagged navy blue wings, with the three Evo Crystals rotating around..

"Mercury, Triple Break!"

Mercury's eyes lit up through the mask as she swung her weapon in the air, the hail and sleet breaking the shields.

"Why didn't he block that?" Jake asked. "Is he nuts?"

"Just what I need. " Dylan smirked. "Shield Trigger: Solar Commune! For each Cyborg in my Battle Zone, I get to tap one of your creatures and since I have two, Melnia and Surfer are tapped.

The shards shimmered and shot bolts at the duo.

"Meteor Burn!" Mike said as he slid guard from under Mercury. "Whenever I use mercury's meteor burn, I can negate a spell effect and destroy it, So Solar Commune is wasted."

"What?" Dylan realized as mercury countered the blast with the Evo Crystal.

"Melnia, Break his final shield!"

Melnia did as she was ordered and shattered the last shield, being unblockable.

"Dylan!" C.J. called out as the Water duelist breathed heavily.

"Next turn you're finished…"

Dylan drew and set mana. "Like I said… It'll be a cold day in hell before you get this card from me! I Generate, and Cross Hydro Bazooka onto my Skull Hunter!

Hydro Cannon materialized and was armed onto Skull Hunter.

"Skull Hunter, Attack Melnia and send Mercury back to his hand!"

Locking onto his targets, Skull jumped into the air, shooting Mercury out of the Battle Zone, shocking Mike. Once it landed, it tackled Melnia off the roof, who stabbed it repeatedly on the way down. Skull exploded with Melnia during the descent.

"Because of Quick Defense's ability, I cross it onto Energion and end my turn."

"What an interesting plot twist…" Mike said impressed. "However…" he sets mana and taps 3 of them.

"This is where It ends. I summon Aqua Guard and evolve it into Crystal Spinslicer…"

The shield wielding centaur materialized, showing that Mike was the victor.

"Spinslicer Todomeda!"

The centaur nodded, the blades in the shield extending out. It threw the shield as Dylan reached out to block with his creature… it was too late.

Dylan felt the full force of the blades as he was forcefully pushed off the platform. He hit the ground hard, coughing up the slowly building blood in his mouth.

"Dylan!" the team raced over to him and helped him up.

The creatures disappeared, Energion feeling guilty that he couldn't protect his duelist. Mike opened his book and jumped from the platform.

"The evil duelist smirked and walked over to his beaten opponent, watching his companions look for signs of life on his half dead body. He walked over to the table spreading over the defeated deck to retrieve his prize…" Mike closed the book and did just that, finding Neo Wave in the middle-bottom of the deck.

"One down, four to go…" As he reached for it, the card sparked, shocking his hand. He pulled back fast, not knowing what that was.

"_You are not worthy of wielding the immense power that card possesses…"_ A female voice spoke.

"What the…?" Mike asked; suddenly another bright light shot from the pile of cards, the blue light blinding his eyes.

"What's going on?" C.J. asked.

"_I am Raiser, the Ice Comet"_ The voice spoke again. The card shot a beam into the sky as the Blue Machine-like Phoenix materialized. It was bright cyan and sapphire blue with a Dragon Motif on the armor; it had a Mermaid-like tail and floating wings connected to its arm sockets. On its lower body and tail it held two moons and the Evo Crystals floated around it.

"That must Be Dylan's Elemental Comet…" Jake assumed.

Mike chuckled. "Not worthy…? You have no idea who you're dealing with; I'm one of NOVA's Nine Supernovas, you really think that one of the nine Strongest Duelists in the world can't wield a pathetic power such as the Catastrophe Gears?"

"Unfortunately you are not one of them…" Raiser replied in her stern voice.

Now mike found himself getting annoyed. He grabbed the card, despite the ensuring pain. He then charged his own energy into it to counter act it, the storm getting more violent than before.

"Cross… Over!" Mike shouted.

The sky erupted with violent lightning as it began to whip up a massive hurricane. The people below ran for their lives as the rain got harder every second and the wind became faster with every step they took against it.

"Stop this, you fool!" Raiser demanded. "The entire City will be annihilated!"

Mike smirked feeling the power of Neo Wave. "Like… I… Care…!"

He held his hands out towards the group as a trio of tornados spiraled out of the sky.

"TAKE COVER!" Shotaro shouted.

* * *

><p>"Holy crap my head…" C.J. groaned, slowly opening his eyes. He touched his forehead, seeing the small red spot on his hand.<p>

"Must've hit my head on the concrete…" His hand dropped to the ground. But something struck him as odd. A few things actually; The sun was bright and warm, there were trees all over the place… and he felt like he was laying in grass…

He got himself up and looked around.

"What the…? Where am I?" C.J. looked around.

Suddenly the Roar of a huge creature shot through the air, diverting his attention upward. The ground started to shake violently as C.J. looked around to see where it was coming from.

The smashing of the ground resembled footprints in the sound as C.J. looked straight ahead. His eyes widened at the sight of the Giant Navy blue Stag beetle stampeding in his direction.

"Is that a Deathblade beetle?" C.J. asked himself.

The Bug screeched and started to move faster, prompting CJ to do the most logical thing: Run!

"What the heck is a Deathblade Beetle doing on Earth?" C.J. thought. Moving faster through the thick forest, he came to an open area in the middle, the jade colored blades of grass extending out about a mile or two in distance.

"Where is this place?" he asked again to himself. "Tsume, any idea?"

No response came from his Deck case.

"Tsume? Flare?" He asked again, to which no response. "Come on guys, this isn't the time to be trolling me."

Deathblade screeched again, making C.J. spin back to see the rampaging creature chop down the trees in its path.

"Oh man that's one tough bug."

Deathblade saw C.J. and clapped it's pincers together, charging him.

"Tsume!" C.J. Shouted at the top of his Lungs.

Suddenly a tomahawk flew from behind C.J. and lodged itself in between the Bug's pincers, causing it to drop in agonizing pain.

"What the…?" C.J. turned to see the heavily breathing Dolzark, slithering itself towards him.

"Sorry about that… It's harder to move without feet." Tsume told him.

"Dude, where are we, and why was that bug just chasing me?"

Tsume shook his head in disbelief. "You don't recognize this place? You've been here when you received the Gears, remember?"

C.J.'s eyes widened. "You mean…"

Tsume nodded. "We were sent into the Kaijin No Sekai…"

C.J. stood dumbfounded, trying to contemplate all of that. "What do you mean we were sent? Who sent us?"

"Must've been the Ice Comet…" Tsume replied. "That Mercury guy went on a rampage with the Catastrophe Gear and in order to protect us, she must've sent us here."

"Where's everyone else?" C.J. asked.

"I don't know… You're the only person I've found so far."

C.J. stood frozen, thinking about the fate of the others. "DO you think…?"

"I couldn't say for sure." Tsume replied. "For all I know they could've ended up in the other civilizations after that. Or they could be-"

"Don't say that!" C.J. Shot at the dragon. "Don't say that they're dead because they're not; they can't be…" a tear started to build in C.J.'s eye. "Come on, we gotta start searching for them."

Tsume nodded. "I think I might know someone who can help."

"Who's that?" C.J. asked.

The dragon nodded. "She's an old friend. Knowing her she can get us to the Fire Civilization in no time flat."

"I hope your right about that."

Tsume held his hand out, letting C.J. climb on his shoulder. "Hold on…" Tsume extended his wings and shot into the air.

"Oh wait!" he stopped suddenly.

"What?"

"My tomahawk;" Tsume went back down and pulled the axe out of the dead bug. "Ok, we're good."

C.J. sighed. "Good to have you back buddy."

* * *

><p>Back at Nova, a bandaged Mike walked down the hallway of the ship, reading his book. Marcus walked in the opposite direction with a smirk on his face. "Well, looks like you got your pride handed to you."<p>

Mike closed his book and smirked. "I can say the same of you." He pulled out the Neo Wave Catastrophe Gear from his pocket, shocking Marcus.

"Well, looks like you got your pride handed to you." Mike mocked.

"Why you!" Marcus grabbed his shirt collar.

"Now now hothead, with that attitude you'll never be better than me." Mike laughed.

"You're dead meat…" Marcus snarled as he balled up his fist.

"Looks like they're at it again…" A female voice said a few feet away from them.

"Seems so… They'll never learn will they?" a Male voice replied.

The two of them turned their attention to the two Nova members, the Girl of Asian descent having a green streak in her hazelnut brown hair dressed in a NOVA uniform along with an African American boy with short black hair and a NOVA uniform on his person.

"June…" Marcus lets go of Michael as he straightened his blazer.

"Peyton…" Michael added.

"Master Ryuusei is looking for you Michael." Peyton told him. "He sent us to come get you."

"I understand. I wonder why I can get along with everyone but you, Marcus."

"That's because I just don't like you…" Marcus replied. "Snot nosed, arrogant and you hide behind that book 24/7."

Mike chuckled. "The feeling's mutual." He joins Peyton as they walk off. June walks over to Marcus and puts her hand on his shoulder. "It's fun watching you two fight, it's like watching two kids on a playground."

Marcus snickered. "Buzz off."

June nodded and turned away. "Just because he's ahead, doesn't mean he's not unreachable…" she walked off as Marcus watched, thinking about those words.

* * *

><p>Back with C.J. and Tsume, the duo landed in a small village, covered in snow, despite the sun being out.<p>

"Where are we? And why is it so freaking cold when 10 feet away its 80 degrees easy?"

"Because this is the Snow Field." Tsume replied. "Home of the: Snow Faeries and my friend; Hey Kachua, are you around?"

The various little snow faeries, all around C.J.'s size stopped at looked at the Giant Dolzark. All their expressions became worry some as that caught C.J.'s attention pretty fast.

"I'm afraid that's not possible…" A voice replied to the dragon.

The other snow faeries turned around and backed up, bowing down to the slow-moving Ice Fairy that floated past them. She was completely made of ice, it being a pale navy color, her blue hair matching. Under her was an orange-eyed crystal monster, its razor sharp claws floating on the side of its long body.

Tsume recognized her and bowed down. He reached over to his shoulder and tapped C.J.'s back to get him to bow as well.

"Queen Diamondia, it's an honor to see you again…" Tsume told her.

The Blizzard rider nodded. "It's been over 5,000 years… You've changed from the little cub I remember."

"The last few months have been a bit rough…" He laughed off. He looked up. "I was wondering if I can speak to Princess Kachua for a moment, we need her help."

Diamondia tilted her head, staring at the cold snow with her blind eyes. Those Humans who call themselves NOVA… They kidnapped the princess."

"They what?" Tsume shot up.

"In order to use her Dragon Summoning powers, they kidnapped her and plan on using her to resurrect the Evil Dragon: Guljeneraid to further their plans on taking over the Kaijin no Sekai.

"Guljeneraid?" C.J. asked.

"It's a Zombie Dragon, presumed to be one of Thanatos' 'Pets'…" Tsume replied.

"And if you guys are making this 'pet' sound so deadly, then how much more powerful is Thanatos?" C.J. asked.

"Where did they take her?" Tsume asked the Queen.

"They took her to the Dragon's Pit, a secret area in the Swamplands where Guljeneraid's supposedly rests. With her power of summoning dragons, they want to use her to bring it back.

"Not if I can help it…" Tsume growled.

"So you're actually going?" C.J. asked.

"You bet I am. You ready?"

C.J. smirked. "Well like you guys said; I'm the Terra Knight because I have the reputation of Saving Princesses all the time. And you're the Fiona Knight, right?"

Tsume nodded. "Let's go…"

Tsume spread his wings out and shot into the air.

Diamondia watched as the two knights left the area as a frozen teal dropped from her face.

"Please… save my daughter…"

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in the Darkness Civilization, the eerie screams of the tortured and mutilated creatures in the dungeon-like Jail cells filled the hallway.<p>

Her Pink and Red Kimono was torn, her blonde hair a mess, and her red veil was ruined, revealing one of her pale sapphire eyes. She hung against the wall as she struggled to break free from the chains that bound her. But after three days of struggling, not only did her arms fall asleep, but her wrists were sore from the struggling.

"Dammit…" she mumbled to herself.

"So… how's my princess doing?" Marcus walked over to the cell door and opened it.

"Bite me NOVA Scum!" Kachua snarled like a teenage girl. She flexed her arms, only getting shocked by the metal chains. Her screams mixed in with the other prisoners as she dropped back, exhausted.

"No use trying. Those chains take whatever power you put into summoning one of your dragons and send it back at you." Marcus said walking over. "Face it, you're stuck here." Marcus smirked and turned back. "When you're willing to comply, Let me know. Until then: Rot your tears away."

The cell door shut as she tilted her head forwards and did just so.

"Tsume… Save me…" She cried silently.

[END]


	6. Tsume and the Blind Girl

Chapter 6: Tsume and the Blind Girl

Soaring in the air as fast as they can, C.J. and Tsume ride through the air currents to save the Princess of the Snow Faeries: Kachua, keeper of the Icegate, from NOVA, who plans to use her power to resurrect an evil dragon. After meeting with Queen Diamondia, C.J. noticed Tsume's reaction to the news of Kachua being kidnapped. He couldn't shake the feeling that Tsume was not only worried, but furious at the same time.

"Um Tsume…? Just out of curiosity, do you have a plan by any chance…?"

"Nope;" The dragon replied.

That reply caught C.J. off guard. After all the times that Tsume counseled C.J. about running into danger without having a plan, he's not following his own advice.

"Hold up… You mean to tell me, after all the times we ended up in situations without a plan, you would yell at me; but you can't take your own advice? What the hell man?"

"This is different. I don't need a plan because I already know what I'm going to do."

"Enlighten me." C.J. crossed his arms.

"I'm going to Save Kachua; if I die, then so be it…" Tsume replied coldly. "I'd do anything for her; even give up my life…"

C.J. listened to Tsume's touching words about the Snow Faerie, but then it dawned on him. "I knew it…"

"What?"

"You love her, don't you…?" C.J. smiled devilishly.

Tsume nodded. "I do; after all, she is my Fiancé…"

"Say what?" C.J. jumped in surprise. He tilted to one side of Tsume's back and slid off.

"Tsume!" C.J. shouted as he descended.

Tsume noticed that and dove down to catch the shocked teenager.

"Jeez, you need to be more careful." Tsume told him.

"Then don't surprise me like that then!" C.J. shot back. He climbed back on his back and kept a grip on his armor. "Now then, what do you mean Fiancé?"

Tsume nodded. "It was 6,000 years ago; After I defeated Neo, Tenshi, Kage and I began to travel to restore the civilizations after Neo's Rampage…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>[Kaijin no Sekai; 6,000 years ago…]<em>**

* * *

><p>"Fear Fang…" Syforce spoke up.<p>

"Yeah?"

"Why is it that we're in the mountains where its nearly below zero out here?" Deathliger spoke for him. "We're freezing to our bones out here!"

"That's kinda redundant coming from you…" Syforce pointed out to the Liger Skeleton."

"Watch it you tin can." Deathliger countered.

"Stop the fighting, both of you." Fear Fang told them both. "The Water Civilization's border is just up ahead. We need their help as they seem to be the only civilization to recover from Neo's Rampage so far.

"Typical;" Deathliger scoffed. "I hate Water."

"Oh relax; you have no fur to get wet so stop complaining." Syforce told it.

Deathliger's growls got stronger as Fear Fang spun around.

"I told you two to cut it out! I understand, we're all freezing but the more time we spend arguing the longer it'll take to fix this mess.

Syforce and Deathliger then turned to Fear Fang.

"Um… What's up?"

"What gives you the right to order us around…?" Syforce asked him suspiciously.

"I gotta agree with the copperhead on this one." Deathliger nodded.

"Can we just please go?" Fear Fang begged.

"Just as long as you don't order us like your servants." Deathliger walked passed him and Syforce floated afterward. Fear Fang sighed in disbelief. "Of all the people who could've inherited the Evo Crystals, why did it have to be them…?"

The trio made it farther in the snow, stopping short as the winds picked up.

"Who votes that we find shelter?" Fear Fang turned to his companions.

The other two nodded, but suddenly they heard screaming further ahead, followed by the screech of a sea creature.

"Who votes we go check that out?" Fear Fang asked again.

As much as they wanted to find shelter, Syforce and Deathligher got kicked by the 'sense of justice' in them and nodded. The trio ran towards the screams as the blizzard died. They found themselves watching a group of humanoid-like creatures, each dressed in blue robes running on the ice, as a green-finned Blue Serpent broke through the ice, roaring into the sky. It's Rider, an Aqua Knight forced the dragon to stop as the group stopped in fear.

"There's nowhere else to run!" The knight-like creature make of clear blue water called out. "Hand over the Dragon summoner and I'll be on my way!"

The young girl dug into her mother's chest in fear, wanting all of this to end. Marshal Queen gripped her daughter tightly and glared at the Dragon Rider

"Why does Emperor Quazala want with my daughter?" The Marshal Queen snapped at him.

"As a weapon of course… With her unique ability, she can take command of both the Fire and Nature Civilizations' Dragons and turn them against their own civilizations. In addition to that; with our newly created Hydro Dragons, she can summon them to her side to cause further damage to those wretched Land dwellers…"

The Dragon under him roared in approval, agreeing with his rider.

"Mind repeating that…?" Fear Fang walked up to them, Deathliger and Syforce not far behind.

"A Fear Fang…?" Aqua Knight stated. "So you're the one who defeated Neo Bolshack Dragon…?"

"What's this about turning our own allies against us?" Fear Fang growled.

Aqua Knight chuckled. "That child over there can summon dragons anywhere she wants. We intend on using that power to destroy our enemy civilizations."

"The hell you are!" Fear Fang Ran towards the Dragon, but Spell Grand Blue smacked the creature across the ice. Fear Fang Slid and growled, the Evo Crystal Around his neck glowing with his building anger.

"Not through yet;" Fear Fang roared as he evolved into Dual Fang. He drew his sword and charged again.

Grand Blue roared and shot a torrent of water at him, which Dual Fang sliced in half, running through it. The split streams froze and broke into ice as it hit the ground.

"Impossible!" Aqua Knight exclaimed as he realized that the Dual Fang jumped into the air. Fighter Dual Fang unleashed his power and sliced the Hydro dragon in half, its circuitry broken apart. The dragon went up in flames as Dual Fang landed.

Deathliger chuckled. "Show off."

Syforce nodded. "Indeed…"

Dual Fang returned back to Fear Fang as he ran over towards the group.

"Are you guy's alri-" he stopped his sentence short looking down. "Oh crap…"

The ice under him from the quick battle broke the ice and it shatter from under his feet.

"And his coolness factor went just as quick." Syforce Added.

"Haha, looks like its building to be honest."

"Cold Cold, Cold! My god it's so freaking cold!" Fear Fang struggled to get out of the below zero water.

Fear Fang looked up and saw the young girl hold her hand out.

"Take my hand!" She told him.

"Um… I'm six inches to your left…" Fear Fang told her.

She looked over and realized. "Oh I'm sorry!" she moved over the six inches and Fear Fang grabbed her hand.

"Thanks for that. I would've been frozen to death in that water; Achoo!" Fear Fang sneezed.

The girl giggled. "No worries; it's the least I could do; After all you saved us from Emperor Quazala's Guards."

"Well, it's like my grandfather Niofa always said: Friend or Enemy: No one deserves an unfair end.

"So you're a Bakkra Horn?" She sparked up.

"Um… No I'm a Fear Fang."

"Jeez, what's with this girl?" Syforce wondered. "Is she stupid or blind?"

"Blondes…" Deathliger shook his head.

"Cool… Sorry about the confusion; I'm not used to the Land so being blind out here is a bit harder than in underwater."

"There's your answer." Deathliger told him.

"You're blind? But how…?" Fear Fang asked her.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Well technically I'm not 'Blind'. Well physically I am but… I just have a unique way of seeing."

"How so?" Tsume asked.

"Through Dragons… I was born with this unique power of summoning dragons. And Dragons exist in all of the civilizations; The Armored and Volcano Dragons in the Fire Civilizations, the Earth Dragons in Nature, the Zombie Dragons in the Darkness, the Hydro Dragons in water, and the Solar Dragons in the Light Civilization. They are my eyes to this world. So free and versatile, and powerful; Because of this power I have a strong bond to them that I wouldn't trade for any physical eyesight."

"And from what I can understand, Emperor Quazala wants to use that power?"

The girl nodded. "He wants to use my gift to take control of the dragons in the civilizations and use them to wipe out the Fire and Nature Civilizations. In his eyes, It was Fire's creatures that destroyed our home, and with Nature beating Neo and his Group, they pose an even bigger threat."

"So now what…? Is he still going to go after you?"

"Doubt it. Cyber Lords are the most intelligent creatures known in the world. Knowing that we made it into the Nature Civilization he'll most likely hold off for now; besides, you just destroyed one of his Hydro Dragons;"

Fear Fang looked over and saw the blue dragon head sprout exposed wires from its neck, still sparking.

"Well at any rate, let's head towards some shelter…"

The group all agreed and began to move away towards the mountains.

* * *

><p>A Few days later, Fear Fang trains, as it's his normal routine. Swing from branch to branch, beating up unexpected training dummies, and as an added feature, briefly transforming into Dual fang to slash down boulder-sized dummies to enhance his swordsmanship.<p>

He landed on a branch and turned back, looking at his beaten training equipment.

"Great way to start the morning." He smiled. He suddenly turned his head ahead, suddenly hearing the melody of a flute up ahead.

"Who's that…?" he asked himself as he went up further. He stopped once he reached his destination, finding the Blonde girl, dressed in a red and pink kimono playing music with a Cocco Lupia with her. Fear Fang sat in the tree and watched the duet play the melodious beat with their respected flutes.

Once it stopped the girl leaned back and slid down on the tree trunk. "It's so peaceful here." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air in. "Did you enjoy our music, Mr. Fear Fang?" she looked up and smiled.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked as he jumped down.

"I can see more than one way you know. My ears; I recognized your footsteps; well, that and Cocco Lupia pointed out that she saw a pussycat up in the tree."

Fear Fang looked at the small firebird who stuck her tongue at him.

"Cute little chicken nugget aren't you?" Fear Fang said annoyed.

Cocco Lupia squealed and hid behind the girl.

"Relax, he was just joking; you were joking… right?"

Fear Fang nodded. "Yes of course I was; besides, I learned my lesson when it comes to small creatures…"

"Haha, you're funny." She smiled.

Fear Fang smiled. "That reminds me… What's your name?"

"It's Kachua…" the Girl smiled. "'Self-proclaimed Snow Faerie' of the Nature Civilization…"

"Snow Faeries…? That ancient race of humanoid creatures that existed decades ago…?"

"Yup; you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Splash Queens and Snow Faeries are one in the same; Snow Faeries are the land Variant and vice versa. Just like with Dragons, how they're different races of them."

"You really like dragons don't you?"

"Well for someone who has the power to summon them at will, you can expect me to be a bit obsessed with them." She smiled.

Fear Fang nodded. "Didn't think of that;"

The two of them stared up at the sky, enjoying the calm peace and Cocco's flute playing as she crept from behind Kachua and decided to play, after realizing that Fear Fang wasn't going to touch it. After a few minutes, Kachua finally popped a question that bugged her about her new friend.

"So you were the one who defeated Neo Bolshack Dragon huh?" Kachua asked.

Fear Fang nodded. "Are you mad? After all he was a dragon."

Kachua laughed. "Why would I be mad? You did rescue him after all."

"I did?"

"You defeated Neo Bolshack Dragon, which allowed the Prince to be released from the curse upon it. I guess you didn't hear the Dragonoids were able to restore it back to life with the help of some of the Nature survivors."

"Really now…?" Fear Fang asked. "So I guess that takes care of who's gonna be the ruler of the Fire Civilization huh? Now that the prince is back to full health…"

"What about you? You have the Evo Crystal of the Nature Civilization; does that mean…?"

"Yup, I'm the Ruler of the Nature Civilization." Fear Fang said proudly.

"That's awesome; so all of this is your kingdom?"

Fear Fang looked out, imagining the various Nature Civilization dwellers in the area, From the Mighty Giants, to the Cunning Insects; The fierce Earth Dragons, as well as the small Dreammate creatures. The vast Fiona Forest extended hundreds of miles in all of the directions around. Fear Fang didn't consider it, but sure enough, it was all under his control.

"Apparently so, now that you brought it to my attention…" he sighed.

Kachua laughed. She stared at Fear fang and smiled. She reached over and held his paw.

"What are you…?"

"If you need help… I'm here for you." Kachua smiled.

"Is that supposed to be a marriage proposal?" Fear Fang joked.

Kachua responded by laughing along with him. "I don't know… I do know that a 'King'… needs a 'Queen' by his side; and since I'm a princess and all, I'm halfway there."

Fear Fang laughed. "Well when you put it like that, I don't mind the extra help."

"Didn't think you would…" She winked.

The two of them sat together a while longer afterward, not wanting to leave the tranquil area of "Their" Kingdom…

* * *

><p><strong><em>[Present Time]<em>**

* * *

><p>"So that's why I'm gonna do everything in my power to save Kachua; the idea of losing her is unbearable." Tsume told C.J.<p>

"I understand; she really does mean a lot to you." C.J. pulled out Prominence Catastrophe from his pocket and stared at the card.

"I'm ready to do some damage to her captors." C.J. told his partner.

"Took the words right out of my mouth; let's break them." Tsume nodded in approval.

Tsume dove down towards the earth, seeing the eerie dark fortress under them.

Various NOVA members walked across the bridges of the prison-like fortress, the Guards watching up on the watchtowers.

One of them caught sight of Tsume and C.J. and talked into his Walkie-Talkie.

"Unknown Dragon Creature incoming, I repeat, Unknown Dragon income-AHHH!"

Tsume dove through the tower, the said tower breaking into bits. He landed and roared at the top of his lungs as C.J. jumped off.

"KACHUA!" Tsume roared as he armed himself with various weapons.

NOVA agents all scrambled out of the base with various Darkness Creatures sprouting from everywhere else; the NOVA Agents were armed with various cross gears, most noticeably Slayer Scythes and Crimson Blasters.

C.J. looked at Tsume and Vice versa.

C.J. drew Fire Blades and Emerald Claws from his pockets as his hands sparked up.

"Cross Over!" he called out as the Gears covered his hands and feet.

"Let's Run Wild…" Tsume said.

C.J. nodded. "Let's go." C.J. cracked his Guantlet-covered knuckles and dashed disappeared in a flash, mowing down the first few rows of soldiers in less than ten seconds.

Tsume did the same, slashing the various Grunt soldiers that the Agents summoned one by one.

Marcus watched as the duo made easy work against the agents as he talked into his walkie-talkie. "Get her set up. It's time for his awakening…"

"_Yes Sir, understood!"_ The agent replied on the other side.

* * *

><p>The duo of agents unlocked the cell door of the weakened Faerie as they unlocked her chains from the wall.<p>

"You lowlifes are going to regret this…" Kachua snarled, earning herself a sock in the gut, causing her to bend forward.

"Just shut up and start walking." The brute of a guard said as he forced her to her feet.

"I know you're out there… I know you're coming…" Tears flowed from her eyes. "Save me… TSUME!" she screamed.

* * *

><p>After catching his boomerang-moving tomahawk, his attention shot into the air, as if he was the only one that heard Kachua's calls for help.<p>

"KACHUA!" Tsume nearly broke the sound barrier as he shot into the air after hearing her voice.

Marcus smirked, holding Fire Blades and Slayer Scythe in his hands.

"Cross Over!" The cards generated onto his person as he bent down.

"Time to die… Dragon…" Marcus said. He shot into the air and lined himself in Tsume's path; However…

"No Chance!" C.J. suddenly appeared and caught the staff mid-swing, using his right hand to punch Marcus back onto the ground below.

"C.J…" Tsume stared at his partner.

"You didn't stop at nothing to help me when I went to save Jamie all of those times… So I'm not stopping at anything to help you to save Kachua, understand? We're in this together, we're knights. We have to protect our Princesses…"

Tsume was speechless. "You really matured… I understand."

"Just promise me you'll come out alive; It sucks losing you once." C.J. told him.

"Don't worry; just kick this Pyro's Butt for me." Tsume replied. He continued his flight towards the designated area as C.J, turned his attention towards the rising Marcus who gave him an evil look.

"Why you little…" Marcus snarled.

C.J. smirked as the gears dispersed from his person. "It's one and one. We still need a Tie Breaker."

"In that case I'll make sure you die this time. Also, I'll make sure I rip that Cross Gear from you as well."

K-terminals rose from the floor under them as both their hands sparked up with their respected Kaijudo Energy.

The ten shields materialized as they readied themselves.

"DUEL START!" they announced.

[END]


	7. Guljeneraid, Knights and Fallen Stars

**[HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY DUEL MASTERS: KAIJUDO GENERATION! 3/7/2012]**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Guljeneraid, Knights and Fallen Stars<p>

* * *

><p>Tsume flew over the Massive fortress, after hearing Kachua's screams for help. All the more, he could sense her presence the energy that she was exerting to summon him to her.<p>

"Don't worry; I'm on my way…" Tsume nodded as he dove down towards the roof…

* * *

><p>"I Generate Fire Blades!" Marcus called out as he tapped his Fire and Darkness mana. The Red Flame motif Roller Blades materialized on his side as C.J. drew his next card.<p>

C.J. set mana and tapped them both; "I Summon Paconeco, the Dream Ruler."

Paconeco Materialized next to C.J., Marcus snickering. "These furballs again…"

Marcus Drew and set mana. "I Summon Braveheart Dragoon, Break his shields ike!"

The Red Tyrannoid materialized and shot towards C.J., Tornado kicking one of his shields. The Pressure of the kick sent a gust of wind as the sharp shield shards shot past him.

"Gonna take more than that…" C.J. said as he collected the card. He drew and set mana. "I summon Cocco Lupia!"

Cocco Lupia flew into the Battle Zone; C.J. looked up at the bird.

"Flare?" C.J. asked.

Cocco Lupia paid him no mind and just chirped.

"Didn't think so… Anyway, Paconeco, Break his shield ike!"

Paconeco waved its wand and picked up a piece of rubble, which it chucked at one of Marcus shields.

Marcus withstood the assault and collected the shield, followed by drawing. "I Summon Necrodragon Zalva."

The Green Serpent rose from the black dirt from the ground and roared. C.J. drew a card afterward.

"Zombie Dragons…" C.J. stared. "Didn't expect that one…"

"Guess you didn't realize that this place is the graveyard for all of the fallen dragons in history; Hence the name: 'Dragon's Pit…'."

"I have a Question…" C.J. suddenly announced. "Why are you trying so hard to resurrect Guljeneraid?"

Marcus raised his eyebrow and chuckled. "I'm not trying hard, I'm Succeeding Easily. You took the bait."

"Took the bait?" C.J. repeated.

"You'll know soon enough…"

C.J. drew and set mana. "I summon Terradragon Dagradolgran!"

Cocco Played its flute summoning the Yellow dragon into the Battle Zone.

"I End my turn for now." C.J. said afterward.

Marcus smirked and drew his next card. He set the fire mana and tapped 3.

"I Summon Smashblow Dragoon, and tap the remaining two mana to cross Fire Blade onto it."

Smashblow materialized followed by the gear generating on his feet.

"Now my Creatures, Ike!" Marcus ordered; one by one the creatures attacked C.J. who held his ground, despite the force trying to push him off the roof.

"Next turn you're finished…" Marcus smirked evily. His eyes widened when he noticed that two of the broken shield shards glistened and regrouped into C.J.'s hand.

"Shield Trigger: Hell Scrapper, Destroy Braveheart and Smashblow!"

The Scrapper materialized behind them and took out the two Tyrannoids.

"Also, Shield Trigger X: Octillion Force, Cross onto Dagradolgran!"

"What?" Marcus realized as Dagradolgran mutated to fit the Armor received.

"My turn…" C.J. drew and set mana. "I Summon Super Dragon Machine Dolzark!"

Another Dolzark materialized behind C.J. and roared.

"Dagradolgran, Triple Break! Dolzark, Send Zalva to mana!"

Dagradolgran unleashed a beam of green flames that converted the three shields into mana, while Dolzark threw its tomahawk at Zalva turning it into mana as well.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Marcus shouted, watching the devastating turn of events.

"It's over… I Win." C.J. told him. "Now then, with that said…" He crossed his arms in confidence. "Either release Kachua or get a face full of Earth Dragon."

"You really think I'd give up that easily?" Marcus asked.

"Cocco Lupia, break his last shield!"

Cocco did just so, the last shield shattering.

"You're such a fool… Shield Trigger:" The Shards froze and regenerated; "Terror Pit on Dolzark!"

The shards shot towards the dragon and constricted it to pieces.

C.J. snickered. "I End my turn."

"I don't know if you noticed, but you gave me quite a bit of mana…"

C.J. looked and realized that his attack supplied Marcus with an additional 4 mana, totaling 9.

"Crap…" C.J. bit his lip.

"I Summon Endbringer Dragoon, and Braveheart Dragoon."

The two Creatures materialized.

"And I cross Fire Blades on Endbringer. Endbringer, Destroy Dagradolgran!"

The White Tyranoid drew its purple blade and cuts down the dragon with no effort.

"Braveheart, Attack Cocco!"

Braveheart and Cocco clashed, both creatures dying with each other. The Battle Zone was empty on both sides, only Cross Gears remaining Marcus thought.

"You seem to be forgetting about something…" C.J. pointed out.

Marcus raised his eyebrow and looked down, seeing the little white furball wave back.

"Paconeco, Todomeda!" C.J. called out as Paconeco made the final attack, breaking the tie between them.

* * *

><p>Marcus flew back in pain, rolling across the ground.<p>

"Dammit… Those little rats…" Marcus snarled.

"Now then, you taken out, I think it's time for me to head on out of here… Sayonara." C.J. waved. He collected his deck and turned around.

"It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you leave alive!" Marcus suddenly blurted out. His Kaijudo Energy skyrocketed, as the aura materialized in an instant, his anger fueling it.

A Group of Tyrannoids materialized behind him, bloodthirsty and ready to attack once given an order.

"Kill him…" Marcus pointed.

The warriors nodded and charged on the unsuspecting C.J….

* * *

><p>The doors slide open revealing Kachua and the two NOVA Agents as they dragged her exhausted body up to the Rockwall where the chains would hook at. The area was illuminated by the yellow lava that resonated a good 50 down as the scheming red eyes glowed from under it.<p>

"Looks like Guljeneraid close to awakening…" one of the agents smirked. "Won't be long now…"

"Enjoy your last moments of piece, Princess…"

The duo laughed as they left Kachua to die. She cried, wishing even more for Tsume to bust into the room and rescue her from the Dragon.

"KACHUA!" Tsume shouted, followed by some explosions and screeches by the creatures being thrashed about.

Her expression went from sorrow to relief as she recognized the voice almost instantly.

"He found me… But how?" She thought. She tried using her power again, the chains putting more pain into it than the others; but at this point, she was so used to the 'shock therapy' that she purposely poured more power into it just to make sure she was getting through. Hopefully she figured that she could summon a Zombie Dragon in the area to assist him.

Guljeneraid roared from the energy as it felt it as well, despite it however he couldn't break from his prison as his roars grew louder, shaking the room.

The doorway suddenly was blasted away as Tsume's roar followed. He flew in and saw the blind girl, weakened, but safe, despite being chained to a wall and all.

"Kachua!" He shot over and hugged the Faerie.

"Is that really you Tsume?" She asked. "You feel different; you don't have fur, more like armor…"

Tsume chuckled. "I had a bit of a upgrade recently, courtesy of the 'Avatar of Unity'

Kachua felt Tsume's chest and arms, trying to make a mental picture of it in her mind.

"You became a Dolzark…" She confirmed.

Tsume nodded. "That's right. With me being a dragon, finding you was a cinch."

Kachua leaned her head on Tsume and cried. "Thank you for saving me…"

"Anything for my princess…" Tsume told her softly.

"Die Stupid Dragon!"

Tsume suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back as it roared at the top of his lungs. A NOVA Agent stabbed him with a Slayer Scythe, the poison shooting through his body.

"Tsume NO!" Kachua screamed.

Tsume's vision became fuzzy as he took a step back going until he fell off the ledge.

"TSUME!" She screamed.

"Kachua… C.J. I'm sorry…" Tsume dropped into the pool as the result lit up the lava as if a chemical reaction.

Guljeneraid roar grew louder as it began to rise from the pool of lava like a Zombie.

* * *

><p>"Cross Over…" C.J. said softly as he disappeared in and instant of the Tyranoids attacking. He appeared behind Marcus, his Emerald Fist ready to be launched.<p>

"Cross Over!" Marcus said, the Fire Blades and the Slayer Scythe materializing with him. The Tyranoids just stared in awe as the duo moved at blinding speed attacking each other, being a few feet from their previous section every three seconds.

The duo found themselves in a deadlock as C.J. held the blade of the Scythe back.

"What do you mean that we 'Took the Bait'?"

The two backed off of each other as Marcus rested the blade on the ground.

"The thing is… Guljeneraid isn't any ordinary Zombie Dragon; He is in fact, a Zombie.

"You point?"

"In Order to resurrect Guljeneraid, we need a Dragon to die…"

"A Dragon to- Don't tell me that…"

"That's right. We had no need for Kachua other than to use her power to summon an unsuspecting Dragon for us to kill off. To our surprise, you allowed your Dolzark to play the part of Bait…"

"Why you…"

Guljeneraid roared suddenly, making Marcus smirked. "Hook, line and Sinker."

"Tsume!" C.J was getting ready to charge, but Marcus punched him back, making him tumble towards the ground.

"No chance." Marcus told him. "Like your friend, I'm gonna kill you and take that gear off of your hands." He then whistled and the trio of Tyranoids nodded.

"Galaxy Vortex Evolution!"

They began to glow as they united into Mars.

"I win… Either hand over the Gear or get a Face Full of Phoenix."

"Bite me…" C.J. snarled. He got up and charged and threw a punch at Marcus. He easily ducked and socked him, making him double over.

"You don't have the experience I have with Cross Overs, so don't try to drag the inevitable. It's clear that I have much more power than you do."

C.J. coughed and forced himself up. "You really think that's enough to stop me?"

"Of course not; Mars… get him." Marcus snapped his fingers and Mars responded by charging.

"You're out of your freaking mind…" C.J. glared. His Kaijudo Energy shot up as twin Regarion suddenly materialized and stopped Mars attack.

"Vortex Evolution…" C.J. said.

The twin Earth Dragons began to glow, still holding Mars in Place.

"I summon Gaia, the Ground Comet!"

The Twin dragons fused into the Phoenix as it knocked the Beast over with its horns.

"Generate: Octillion Force. Cross!" C.J. called out as he threw the electrified card at Gaia.

Gaia Roared as the armor clasped onto it.

"Go, Gaia!" C.J. shouted.

Mars roared as its heads all charged and shot beams at Gaia.

Gaia simply chuckled. "What a disgrace of a Phoenix you are…" The blades readied themselves and in one fell swoop, the small serpents all fell slashed to bits as Mars screeched in pain.

Gaia then set its sights on the main body and charged, the Octillion Blades slashing Mars as it exploded after the assault.

Marcus eyes were wide open, shocked to watch his Supernova destroyed like that.

"You turn…" C.J. said. he used the blades to shoot back up and uppercut Marcus into the air, the blades making them go higher.

"There's no way that… you could be able to do this!"

"There's a way… You pissed me off!" C.J. spun in midair and kicked Marcus back to the ground, the speed of the blade putting force into it.

Marcus crashed into the ground, rolling. He stopped, lying on his back as he opened his eyes, just to see C.J. charging with his Emerald fist glowing violently.

"Terra Impact!" C.J. Landed and slammed Marcus with his fist, the ladder feeling his insides cave in from the massive pressure felt.

"It's… not possible… I'm… The Blazing Supernova…" Marcus lost consciousness after uttering those words as C.J. stood up, his anger still rising. He raised his other fist up, ready to finish him off.

"This… is for Tsume!" his fist went in for the kill.

"That's enough!" Gaia snapped, making C.J. stop.

"Like hell it is!"

"I Said… That's enough, Terra Knight. He's in no position to pose a threat anymore; Leave him alone. You have more important matters to attend to.

Guljeneraid roared as NOVA agents and their creatures were blown back by the rampaging monster that tore through the rest of the base further ahead.

"You're right… Let's go." C.J. hopped onto Gaia as the duo rode off.

* * *

><p>Back at the NOVA Airship, Michael bowed before Master Ryuusei, presenting the Neo Wave Catastrophe Gear he took from Dylan during their confrontation. Vanessa, Peyton and June watched from afar as Ryuusei commended him for his work.<p>

"Marcus isn't gonna like this…" Vanessa smirked. "This alone would send the hothead over the edge."

"Well it almost happened earlier." June replied. She pulled out a green apple from her pocket and bit into it. "Peyton and I broke it up before it got serious."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him in like two days. Where'd he run off too?" Vanessa asked.

"I heard that he went to the Dragon Pit." Peyton replied. "Kidnapped Kachua out of the Snow Fields and he's trying to resurrect that Guljeneraid Dragon."

"What'll that do? Is he trying to get Brownie Points or something?"

"As a matter of fact, Master Ryuusei's the one who stationed him out there. Legend has it that Necrodragon Guljeneraid was one of Thanatos' servants, and with his power it'll put us at a huge advantage in the war." Peyton replied.

"Interesting; looks like he took my words to heart then." June smiled.

"Master Ryuusei!" one of the Agents sped past the trio as they watched him run up to the throne.

"What do you want?" the General asked coldly.

"Guljeneraid's on a rampage and Mars isn't responding to any of our calls!"

Mike and the others turn to him, surprised at that statement.

"So much for those brownie points…" Vanessa said.

"What do you suppose we do?" the Agent asked.

Master Ryuusei crossed his arms and smirked. "He's Grown up, let him sort it out."

"But sir…"

"That's an order; leave him be." Ryuusei Snarled.

"Y-Yes sir…" The Agent saluted and walked off.

Mike and the others were shocked by Ryuusei's judgment of Marcus; despite none of them getting along so well, the fact still remained that they were a team nonetheless. So just hearing the implication of abandoning Marcus out there just didn't seem right to them.

Peyton sighed. "It looks like I'm the one going right?"

The two girls turned to him.

"I'll see you guys in a little bit." Peyton turned and waved his hand.

Mike watched Peyton walk off. "And so the plot thickens…"

* * *

><p>Guljeneraid roared and shot black flames everywhere as the various creatures and agents ran for their lives. C.J. and Gaia reached the area where Guljeneraid rose from, C.J. spotting Kachua. He jumped off of Gaia's back and unhooked the chains.<p>

"Who are you…?" Kachua asked.

"A friend of Tsume;" He replied, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Can you walk?"

"Barely;" she sighed. "I got shocked so many times my body's mostly numb."

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you back home…" C.J. reassured. "After we find a way to deal with the zombie here…"

Guljeneraid spotted the group and growled, followed by a roar.

"Crap he saw us!" C.J. said. "Wait a sec…"

Guljeneraid's roar was instead a Tomahawk in its rotting backside as Tsume flew from the pit under them, the lava dripping off his armor.

"Hey, you made it just in time." Tsume waved.

"You're alive?" C.J. asked. "But how, Guljeneraid needed a Dragon to come back to life…"

Tsume nodded and reached for his back, pulling off the skull of a Necrodragon Halberd.

"Some idiot Nova Agent killed a dragon that tried to bite me from behind."

"So why the hell did you make me think you died?" C.J. and Kachua nearly said simultaneously.

"Because I figured it'd be awesome to arise from the dead when all hope seemed lost." Tsume laughed.

"Same old Tsume…" C.J. shook his head.

"Now then…" Tsume turned to the Dragon. "C.J., Let's make this quick."

C.J. nodded the cross gears generating on his hands and fist. "Ready whenever you are; Octillion Force: Cross onto Dolzark!"

Gaia nodded and surrendered the gear to Dolzark as the armor clasped on.

"Now, Generate Evolution; Octillion Force into Prominence Catastrophe!" C.J held the card into the air as it lit up red and green lighting. The radiance hit Guljeneraid making it hurt deeply from the electricity flowing through.

The lava from below shot up like geysers that circled Dolzark. His armor turned gold and red and it also sprouted crimson red wings of a Phoenix. C.J. stood in awe watching the presentation of might and power being excreted as Tsume roared violently.

Guljeneraid, unfazed by the upgrade blew flames at Tsume. Tsume geld his hand out and generated a Blade from the flames. He charged, cutting through the black flames and finally piercing the Dragon's heart, slaying it.

Guljeneraid roared in agony as it's yellow eyes grew dim. Tsume withdrew his blade as the dragon crashed back in the pool, the stream of data-like particles fading off.

"Wow; when you said quickly you weren't kidding." Kachua commented.

"I never kid." Tsume replied.

"I call Bullcrap!" C.J. said.

"You're a different story." Tsume replied; "Another story, for another time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" C.J. asked.

"I'll explain later; for now, let's just get Kachua back home."

"Thanks for your help Gaia."

"Thank you for allowing me to assist you." He replied. Gaia disappeared and returned to C.J.'s deck as Tsume helped him and Kachua onto his back.

"Tsume…" Kachua leaned forward. "Thanks for always being there for me."

"Like I said; anything for my princess…." Tsume nodded.

They then flew off towards the direction of the Nature Civilization as Guljeneraid's card flew up into the air. It floated slowly down to the earth, landing in someone's hand.

* * *

><p>"Not bad C.J…" Karon looked as he watched them leave. "Save me the trouble of slaying it." He opened the deck case and slid it in. he was about to reinsert the case, but stopped himself, noticing Ballom on the front of his deck.<p>

"Kage; let's move out."

The Deathliger under him roared and nodded. "Where to…?"

"The Water Civilization; There's some creatures I wanna recruit for my deck."

"You know I hate the water…" Kage reminded him. "But as you wish…"

Deathliger then started to run east of their position, towards the Water Civilization border between the two civilizations, despite not knowing Karon's motives of going, let alone the danger that they'll be facing…

[END]


	8. The Dark Reaper's Nightmare

Chapter 8: The Dark Reaper's Nightmare

"Where… Where am I?" Shotaro spoke softly as he found himself in a hospital bed. The IV was stuck in his left arm, and the announcements from the outside confirmed that he ended up in the hospital, despite not knowing how he ended up there.

"Looks like you finally woke up…" A male voice spoke up, followed by two pairs of footsteps.

"We were worried that you were gonna sleep for the rest of the week." A Female voice added.

"Kengo, Yuuki; what are you guys doing here. No wait, better question. How did I end up in the hospital?"

The two adults who were dressed in regular civilian clothing walked approached the bed, Kengo leaning against the wall while Yuuki took a seat next to the bed.

"You and Tachibana were found on the JAXA roof after that explosion, and you've been passed out for about 3 days.

"Explosion… wait, I've been asleep for three days?" He suddenly realized. "What happened to the kids?"

"What kids?" Kengo asked. "The medics only found you two and a burned down K-Terminal."

"That can't be right, there were five teenagers with us and…"

"And…? Who else was there?"

"A Member of the NOVA Organization…" Shotaro remembered.

"NOVA…?" Yuuki asked. "You mean that Gentaro is…?"

"Still Alive; I don't know to be honest, but I can only assume so. Who else would try to break Thanatos' seal? To make matters worse they already have one of the five Jewels."

"Tachibana told us that someone used Cross Over to access the power of Neo Wave Catastrophe." Kengo replied.

"Where is he?"

"Back at base, he wasn't as banged up as you were but whatever happened, you took most of it."

"Figures as much;" Shotaro sighed. "I'm forever accident-prone. Did he mention the Kids with us?"

Kengo shook his head. "Hasn't peeped a word, he's been stuck in his office since the incident."

"He must be looking for them;" Shotaro nodded. Suddenly though, something came to mind. "Wait a sec…"

* * *

><p><strong>[FLASHBACK]<strong>

"_I am Raiser, the Ice Comet"_ The voice spoke again. The card shot a beam into the sky as the Blue Machine-like Phoenix materialized. It was bright cyan and sapphire blue with a Dragon Motif on the armor; it had a Mermaid-like tail and floating wings connected to its arm sockets. On its lower body and tail it held two moons and the Evo Crystals floated around it.

"That must Be Dylan's Elemental Comet…" Jake assumed.

Mike chuckled. "Not worthy…? You have no idea who you're dealing with; I'm one of NOVA's Nine Supernovas, you really think that one of the nine Strongest Duelists in the world can't wield a pathetic power such as the Catastrophe Gears?"

"Unfortunately you are not one of them…" Raiser replied in her stern voice.

Now Mike found himself getting annoyed. He grabbed the card, despite the ensuring pain. He then charged his own energy into it to counter act it, the storm getting more violent than before.

"Cross… Over!" Mike shouted.

The sky erupted with violent lightning as it began to whip up a massive hurricane. The people below ran for their lives as the rain got harder every second and the wind became faster with every step they took against it.

"Stop this, you fool!" Raiser demanded. "The entire City will be annihilated!"

Mike smirked feeling the power of Neo Wave. "Like… I… Care…!"

He held his hands out towards the group as a trio of tornados spiraled out of the sky.

"TAKE COVER!" Shotaro shouted.

**[END FLASHBACK]**

* * *

><p>"I wonder if the Comets…"<p>

"Comets…?" Yuuki repeated.

"The Ice Comet; Those kids have possession of the Elemental Comets."

Kengo suddenly realized what he was going towards. "Wait a sec, you don't think… I mean, why would they?"

"I think the Comets believe that those five can take down NOVA, so they sent them to the Kaijin no Sekai to stop them from the heart of the matter."

Kengo snickered. "To clean up our screw up…"

"Question is how are they gonna get back?" Shotaro wondered.

Yuuki looked down at her lap with a sad expression on her face. "If they're anything like we were, they won't leave until they're stopped.

Shotaro chuckled. "Don't worry about that. I have faith Team KG will make it through; After all, they did save the world twice before, 3rd time around should be a walk in the park for them.

Yuuki looked at him, noticing the smirk on his face. "I hope your right about that. Their blood will be on our hands if they don't make it back alive…"

* * *

><p>In the Kaijin No Sekai, Marcus leaned up against the broken pillar of the Fortress beaten, discouraged and angered. The fact that some kid who hasn't even heard of Cross Over easily overpowered him was just unfathomable to him especially that he trained years to be at the level that he was at. He was the Blazing Supernova… Or at least he was. With Mars' destruction, and the failed attempt to resurrect Guljeneraid, in addition to missing out on a 3rd opportunity to get the Prominence Catastrophe Gear… he was almost certain that Master Ryuusei was gonna leave him out there to die.<p>

Suddenly he heard the roar of a loud Tyranoid overhead. He looked up and saw the purple Lizard descend a few yards from him as it gently landed on the broken rooftop. It had red horns and Its body was covered in jagged scales and its back shot out blue energy resembling wings.

"Drazalk…" Marcus sighed. "So I guess Master Ryuusei sent you to finish me off…"

Peyton got up from his beast and jumped off its back, the Slayer Scythe strapped on his back, like the Grim Reaper.

"On the contrary;" Peyton replied. "He actually doesn't want to help you in any way; besides who can blame him?"

Marcus turned his head. "Cut the crap, why are you here?"

"Because unlike him I came to save your butt from dying out here; The Darkness Civilization's isn't some playground, there's quite a bit of nasty stuff out there that'll get you killed if you're not careful."

"Save me? Since when did you care?" Marcus turned back. "I don't need saving; I got myself into this I can get myself out."

Peyton shook his head, like he expected this. "Same old Marcus, always wanting to be the 'One-Man Army;' Come on, I'm taking you back. Master Ryuusei can scold me all he wants but I'd take that over letting my comrade die out here alone." He walked over and got Marcus on his feet.

"Get off, I said I can get back myself." He shoved Peyton off of him, however it didn't even take him two steps to realize that he was too weak to walk.

"Just swallow your pride and accept the help you dolt." Peyton told him. "Why should I?" Marcus asked as he got back up with his help.

"You should know…" Peyton replied. "After all it's what kept us alive all the years we've been in this world." The both of them got on Drazalk's back as the creature got back into the air and took off.

* * *

><p>While running towards the direction of the Water Civilization, Karon and Kage ran across the murky swampland, which meant they were getting close. Within the Five Civilizations, they each have a border to one another, and each border is signified by the environment that the civilizations produce between each other. Also noticeable is the increased sightings of multi civilization creatures within those areas. Seeing as the area was beginning to turn into swamp and mud, this gave Karon the realization that they were soon approaching the Water Civilization border, as the further they went, the more wet it became.<p>

"Almost there…" Kage roared as he picked up speed. "Why are we going to the Water Civilization again; I mean what's the real reason why we're going?"

Karon kept quiet with the Deathliger sighing.

"Still with the silent treatment… Forget I asked."

Karon looked up and noticed the Drazalk flying overhead.

"Kage stop!" Karon ordered, forcing the Deathliger to make a short stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Karon pointed up to the sky following Peyton and Marcus with his eyes. "Follow them."

"What for…?"

Karon smirked. "The sooner the better right; we can take them down and be on our way."

"Are you sure about that? They made C.J., Jamie and Dylan look like ants compared to them."

"I'm not any of them am I? It'll be over quick…" Karon smiled with a dark glare in his eyes, like a predator.

Kage sucked his teeth as if he was gonna hate this stunt but he didn't go further with this. After all the years he's known Karon the second he sets his sights on a strong opponent it'll be over his dead body to tell him otherwise. So he followed them.

* * *

><p>As the NOVA Duo flew in the air back to base, Marcus had the feeling that they were being followed which isn't surprising. NOVA agents were trained to have high sensory skill as to know if they're being trailed by enemies. He turned and saw Karon and the Deathliger run under them to try and catch up.<p>

"A Human and a Deathliger…?" Marcus wondered. "That must be KG's Darkness duelist; And if that's the case then that must be the Ruler of the Darkness Civilization."

Peyton turned around hearing Marcus mumble to himself. "We're being followed?"

"Seems like it." Marcus smirked. "I'll let you have fun with this one."

Peyton looked over and saw Karon stare right back.

"Looks strong. This outta be fun."

Drazalk descended and finally landed after about a minute. Karon and Deathliger rode up as Karon jumped off his partner's back.

"So you must be Karon Davidson, the 'Dark Reaper' of the DM World." Peyton studied. "Shame, you look weaker than I expected."

"Well for a NOVA agent you look like a pushover yourself." Karon countered. "You shouldn't take long. And once you're through I can keep moving on."

"Couldn't have said it better myself; Kettou Da!" Peyton's hand sparked up purple lightning as he pushed a button on his deck case. The ground shook as two K-Terminals rose from the swamp, completely clean despite rising from the mud.

* * *

><p>The shields deployed as they drew.<p>

"DUEL START!" they called out.

Karon set darkness mana and ended his turn, while Peyton drew, did the same and ended.

Karon drew and set Water mana next. "I Cast Emergency Typhoon. I draw two cards then discard one from my hand." Karon drew the top two cards from his deck, revealing them to be Tasknight Mubrid and Necrodragon Guljeneraid. He discarded Guljeneraid.

"I End my turn." Karon confirmed.

"Guljeneraid…" Peyton noticed. "Looks like you weren't too far from our camp…"

Karon shrugged his shoulders. "All I'm doing is gathering strong creatures. I can care less about where I was. Guljeneraid's a strong creature, so I decided to claim it."

"Spoken like a true Darkness duelist." Peyton grinned as he drew. He set another Darkness mana and tapped them both.

"I summon Pierr, Psycho Doll." He set the Slayer into the Battle Zone as the small puppet rose from the earth under them.

Karon drew and set mana. "I Summon Tasknight Mubrid."

A Small blue and orange fish-like creature with a small horn and tusks popped from the murky water in the area and joined Karon on his side.

Peyton drew and set mana. "A blocker versus a blocker…" Peyton then tapped two mana.

"I Cast Ghost Touch, making you discard a card from your hand at random."

Karon grunted, shuffling the four cards and tossing the top card off.

"And there goes Giland." Peyton smiled in approval. "I end my turn."

Karon shook off the loss and drew. He set his 4th mana and tapped all four.

"I Summon Balzoo, the Shadow Warrior; send Pierr back to his hand."

A bluish-purple fish man with a leviathan-like creature attached to his arm shot from the water under them. It aimed its fish-arm at the puppet and shot out a stream of pressurized water, washing it away without much effort.

"I end my turn." Karon smirked.

"Don't get too overconfident." Peyton reminded. "After all it's still early.

He drew and set mana. "I Summon Jenny, the Dismantling puppet."

Jenny rose from the mud crackling a little laugh, reminding that it was still an evil little toy. She pointed at Karon and motioned her finger to come closer. Karon revealed the three cards in his hand: Gellum, the Shadow Comet, Hell Sabers and Terror Pit.

"Discard Gellum;" Peyton chose as jenny slashed the air, sending a sonic wave that knocked the card from his hand.

"I end my turn." Peyton said.

Karon grunted staring at his grave. He drew and set mana. "I Generate Hell Sabers, and cross them onto Balzoo; Balzoo, Double Break his shields Ike!"

The Purple shoulder pads clasped onto his person as the armor extended to his hands, where it branched off into a pair of twin bladed claws. Balzoo dashed on the swamp and slashed the shields to bits, putting Karon at a "5-3" advantage.

Peyton smirked and held his hand out into the air. "Shield Trigger: I Summon Silent Dragoon!"

The shield shards from the other shield stopped and returned into the battle zone as they reformed into the Tyranoid. The Tyranoid was purple, and wearing a black and red cape; He casted his right arm out which shot out a blade, ready to cut down something.

"_Well that's two shields gone; three to go…"_ Karon told himself. He felt his heart racing for some reason, which was getting to him.

"You OK? You're not afraid of me are you?" Peyton taunted, seeing it in his face.

Karon shook it off. "Me, afraid…? This is just getting interesting. Give me your best shot."

"I'll keep that in mind." Peyton drew and set mana. "Silent Dragoon, evolve into Drazalk, Dark Dragonsaur!" he set the evolution creature on top of his creature as Silent pulled an Evo Crystal from his cape. He held it into the air as he mutated into Drazalk. The Evolved Tyranoid roared as he looked down at Karon and his two creatures.

"Drazalk, attack Balzoo!"

Drazalk obeyed his master's command as it raised its claw over it to crush it.

"Tasknight block!" Karon tapped his creature, causing to shoot in front of the beast.

"Not a chance…" Peyton said. "Meteorburn!" he slid silent from under it and casted it to the grave. "When I activate Drazalk's Meteorburn, I can destroy one of your creatures with blocker!"

"What?" Karon realized as Drazalk crushed both creatures at the same time. It roared in victory as Karon stood speechless.

"Jenny, break his shield ike!"

Jenny laughed again and slashed the shield to bits.

Karon regained the shield and snickered. "No Trigger." He drew and set that broken shield to mana. "I Summon Necrodragon Giland, and I Generate Invisible Suit. I end my turn."

Giland and the invisible suit both appeared, making Peyton chuckle. "This is so pathetic…"

"What was that?" Karon glared.

"The Dark Reaper of the DM world? Don't make me laugh." Peyton taunted. "This is such a weak performance from you. Where's your Legendary Ballom? I see your Deathliger sitting on the sidelines and yet you haven't even summoned one Shadow Command this whole match…"

Deathliger growled angrily at Peyton, but he did have a point. Throughout the whole duel, Karon has, if anything summoned nothing but Swamp People and Deep Marines. Vile Mulder, Melnia, Even him himself; Karon hasn't summoned any of "his" cards; it was like he was a different person. It was like… he abandoned everything…

"Shut up and make your move already!" Karon snapped, something that's not like him.

"I love it…" Peyton smirked as he drew his next card. His hard sparked up. "I love the fear in your voice. You're terrified… The legendary Dark Reaper is scared out of his mind, oh man this is rich!" Peyton cracked up. "Well, at any rate, allow me to make your final moments memorable. I'll show you what it truly means… _To be a Grim Reaper!_"

The card in his hand grew more radiant as he sent his 6th mana down, and Pierr, Psycho doll into the Battle Zone.

"Awaken, the Phoenix of Pluto: Galaxy Vortex Evolution!"

Karon's body froze in fear. Never in his dueling career has he felt his body become this cold before. He's faced much worse things before. He stood against the likes of Neo Bolshack Dragon, Hybrids, and an army of creatures destroying NYC and each time he shook it off as no big deal; he even learned to control Dorballom, the Shadow King; so why… Why was he terrified? And then he realized it…

"Pluto the Death Supernova!" Peyton called as the trio of cards united and the GV Evo landed on top.

His Shadow Commands weren't there to protect him…

Drazalk, Jenny and Pierr all roared as the two puppets hopped on its back as they rose into the sky and into the clouds. A Purple Beam rained down soon after as a Black, Blue and Green-colored Creature descended from it. This machine-like creature had six arms and an additional six tentacles extending from its backside. On its lower-half, it housed a Bright Blue Orb, like a core, each of its Evolution Crystals stored inside it. Its joints moved as the gears churned back and forth.

Peyton enjoyed Karon's face grow pale. He raised his hand into the air, eagerly awaiting the next few moments.

"Pluto: Triple Break!"

Pluto's orb charged a bright light and wiped 3 of Karon's shields to smithereens.

"Meteorburn!" Peyton removed a creature from Pluto. "Using Pluto's Meteorburn, I can destroy one of your creatures; and I'll Target Giland!"

Pluto's tentacles whipped and went after Giland, restricting it until it was destroyed.

Giland was sent to the graveyard, but just then Karon's grave began to glow.

Karon regained his composure and smirked. "Thanks for that. Since Giland was destroyed, I can put Necrodragon Guljeneraid into the Battle Zone without Cost!"

Necrodragon Guljeneraid suddenly rose up and roared ready to turn Pluto into scrap metal.

"It's your turn." Peyton motioned.

Karon drew his card, and realized that this card could be of great use in this situation. He tapped two of his darkness mana and crossed Hell Sabers onto Guljeneraid.

"Now, with another four: Generate Evolution!" Karon called out. "Hell Sabers into Tsunami Catastrophe!"

Guljeneraid roared as the electrified Evo Crystal encircled him. The swamp waters erupted as they spiraled around the Dragon. Feeling the boost in power it roared and it stared at Peyton, who was still unfazed.

"Guljeneraid, Double Break!" Karon said. Guljeneraid Roared and shattered two shields. Peyton tossed the two cards out of his hand in favor for the two shields as Karon drew two, thanks to Tsunami Catastrophe.

"Dragon's should stay dead…" Peyton flipped over one of the shields. "Shield Trigger: Terror Pit!"

The dark hands shot out and subdued the dragon as it was forced back into the swamp, despite its resistance.

"Damn it!" Karon suddenly blurted out. "I was so close!"

"Calm down…" Peyton told him. "It'll all be over in a minute…" he drew his next card. "I Summon a Second Jenny."

Another Jenny materialized and forced Karon to reveal his hand: Hydro Hurricane, Zombie Carnival, Azelzard, Shadow Emperor, Glemy, Shadow Warrior, Necrodragon Gilgazames, and Terror Pit.

"Damn you…" Karon cursed under his breath.

"Hydro Hurricane..." Peyton called, causing it to be sent to the grave.

"Pluto, Break his final shield, Ike!"

Pluto locked on and let its tentacles break apart the shield before Karon.

The shield generated in his hand which shocked him because it was a trigger; but not one that could help him.

"Emergency Typhoon…" Karon bit his lip.

"Any last words before I finish you off?" Peyton crossed his arms.

Karon kept his head down and shook it. He drew his card, not bothering to look at it, as to him, nothing was going to get him out of this situation.

"I pass…"

"Pluto, the Death Supernova… Todomeda!"

Pluto locked on one final time, charging its core beam and unleashing it.

A tear traveled down Karon's cheek.

The blast connected, sending Karon back into a tree, the surging pain of the impact so fast and so painful that Karon didn't have time to react, not knowing which pain hurt more. The Physical one, or the emotional one…

* * *

><p>Karon dropped face first in the mud as Marcus stood dumbfounded at Peyton's skills.<p>

"And that makes two Gears…" Peyton said as he took the evo gear from the broken terminal.

"He's not dead… is he?" Marcus asked, still kinda freaked out.

"Nah, he got lucky… This, Marcus is the reason why I came for you. The Darkness Civilization is full of deadly creatures. Exhibit A: Me…"

He slid the card into his case and whistled, summoning his Drazalk to them. "Now then let's get back."

Deathliger stood shocked as well. He grabbed the lifeless body of his partner, as he felt guilty that he couldn't do a thing to protect him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Kage scolded in his head. "Karon, you better not die on me…" he picked him up by his shirt and got him on his back. "You have a lot of explaining to do when you wake up…"

Kage then turned back in the opposite direction where they came from to head into the Water Civilization like they were supposed to…

[END]


	9. Me and my Shadow Command

Chapter 9: Me and my Shadow Command

* * *

><p><em>[Manhattan, NY 2005]<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>What am I going to do? How can I pay off all of these bills?"<em>

"_Honey, try to relax…"_

"_Relax…? Are you kidding me? We're about to lose everything and you want me to relax! I didn't bring you guys to this country to relive the same nightmare we did back in Sri Lanka!" _

"_That's not what I meant, These bills are doing no good to your health, you're going to collapse from all of this stress if you keep worrying about this!"_

"_How can I not worry? Our store is losing all of its business and the loan from the bank is nowhere close to getting paid. If I don't come up with some kind of money by the end of the week, then they'll take our home away! Do you want to be homeless again, cuz I sure as hell don't find that enjoyable!"_

The following response was filled with sniffling and crying, due to the inevitable.

* * *

><p>Upstairs, the cracked door of the room hid the body of a young Seven-Year old Karon, leaning up against the wall in a sulking position.<p>

"Mom and Dad are fighting again…" he whispered to himself. He looked over to his left and looked at the Deathliger card that leaned next to him.

"Any ideas on how we can save Dad's store?" Karon asked the card. The card obviously didn't respond but Karon replied to it as if it did.

"Yeah, a Tournament with prize money, that would work. But what are the odds of that happening? No, I don't doubt that idea, it's just that it's impossible. That's only in cartoons and stuff, not in real life. Besides, I'm only seven, what tournament would allow kids to enter? Very funny; Toysrus is having a Tournament for Duel Masters? You know they only do Beyblade and Yu-Gi-Oh Tournaments. Duel Master's isn't even that popular.

Karon's parents stare at the devastating bills that's piled up on the table, suddenly hearing Karon upstairs.

"Is he talking to that card again?" Mrs. Davidson asked.

"Probably is. At least the boy has a healthy imagination."

"He needs to get some friends. He's such a loner; I don't know why he doesn't invite his classmates over."

"He told me that they aren't up to his Dueling Level." Mr. Davidson sighed. "Maybe introducing him to that game was more of a blunder than a Father/Son activity like I planned... It's like the only friend he has, is that Deathliger, Lion of Chaos…

* * *

><p><em>[Present Day]<em>

* * *

><p>"Pluto, Break his final shield, Ike!"<p>

Pluto locked on and let its tentacles break apart the shield before Karon.

The shield generated in his hand which shocked him because it was a trigger; but not one that could help him.

"Emergency Typhoon…" Karon bit his lip.

"Any last words before I finish you off?" Peyton crossed his arms.

Karon kept his head down and shook it. He drew his card, not bothering to look at it, as to him, nothing was going to get him out of this situation.

"I pass…"

"Pluto, the Death Supernova… Todomeda!"

Pluto locked on one final time, charging its core beam and unleashing it.

A tear traveled down Karon's cheek.

The blast connected, sending Karon back into a tree, the surging pain of the impact so fast and so painful that Karon didn't have time to react, not knowing which pain hurt more. The Physical one, or the emotional one…

* * *

><p>"AHHHHH!" Karon shot up in a cold sweat, suddenly grunting from the sudden pain he felt… all over. He leaned back, being cradled by the soft blankets and warm pillow.<p>

"Where am I…?" the Darkness duelist grunted.

"_Technically speaking: Atlantis. This is where we were heading in the first place after all…"_ Kage said through Karon's deck case that set next to the bed.

"Kage…?" Karon turned and saw the Deathliger materialize in its hologram form. "How did I…?"

"It's been a while, hasn't it, _Sweetheart_?" a feminine voice asked as heels clicked into Karon's room.

"There's only one person I can think off who would call me that…" Karon said annoyed.

A Young woman, with long braided black hair, Bright blue eyes and Glasses walked into the room. She wore a navy blue blouse and a black skirt, while wearing a white lab coat and a stethoscope around her neck, while wearing black heels.

"Nicole, what-

"Ah ah ah." Nikki waved her index finger. "That's Doctor Carson to you."

Karon rolled his eyes. "Dr. Carson, what are you doing here?"

Nikki took a seat across from the bed and looked at her clipboard. "Looking to find out what's wrong with you physically and mentally. And to induce some things while I observe you…" She put the board down and cracked her knuckles, before flipping the page.

"No seriously, what are you doing here?"

"She's a Doctor in the Creature World." Kage replied. "The Avatar of Fate, although ironic, is a Medical specialist working with both the Water and Darkness Civilizations. It's part of her duties as the Avatar. She heals and also preforms upgrades to creatures to heighten their abilities.

"And apparently, she's also a human doctor…" Karon looked on.

"I've been studying the Human race on earth for thousands of years, I can safely assure you that I have a PHD in over a dozen of medical fields." She said setting the board on the table. She walked over and took Karon's deck from the stand, using his ID to unlock it.

"Hey what are you doing?" Karon snapped.

"Looking at your deck; to think that someone of your caliber would lose to some NOVA Scum is just unfathomable… Where is it…?"

"Where's what…?" Karon raised an eyebrow.

"My Tsunami Catastrophe…" Nikki turned to him. "Where the hell is my Cross Gear?"

"That NOVA Scum took it from me…" Karon replied calmly; That reply surely set Nikki's anger ablaze.

"What do you mean he took it from you? Did you just hand it over to him because you felt sorry and wanted to give him a chance or something like 'you know what, even though I _clearly_ won this waste of a duel, I'll let you take this and… you know what, get your creature to blast me into that tree to make it seem like you beat me badly.' I mean, What idiot was I to even trust you to even protect one of the most valuable things of my Career?

"Hey hold on a sec, it wasn't his fault!" Kage shot.

"Yes it was…" Karon stopped him from going further. "I'm… sorry for losing the Gear. I let my overconfidence get the better of me and I lost something extremely important…" he apologized sincerely. "I truly apologize for that."

Nikki was a bit speechless. "Wow, you really matured haven't you?"

Karon didn't say anything in response.

Nikki smirked and skimmed through the deck once again. "Wait hold on…"

"Now what?" Karon glared, preparing his next two separate paragraphs depending on what her next words.

"Where are your cards?" Nikki asked.

"What do you mean my cards, those are my cards."

"These aren't your cards Karon. I Don't see Melnia, no Marionmancer, Clearly no Shadow Command in sight. Oh really? After all that mess I went through to give you Dorballom you cast him away too?"

"What's with that attitude, are you trying to get me to smile?" Karon turned his head, trying hard not to laugh at Nikki's crazy reaction to his deck.

"Laughter's always the best medicine." Nikki replied. "Seriously though… Zombie Dragons and Swamp People… And Gellum? Where did you find him?"

"We won those cards at a tournament a few days ago."

"The others have the other Elemental Comets too? Where are they?"

"No idea. After an encounter with NOVA back on earth, I found myself stranded with Kage in the Darkness civilization. After encountering some NOVA Grunts, we learned about Guljeneraid's resting ground, and headed to get the card. As my deck stood, there's no way for me to summon Gellum; So, I completely switched my deck over to Swamp People and Zombie Dragons. I plan on defeating NOVA at all costs, that includes cutting ties with my allies. I saw CJ heading to the Nature Civilization shortly after Guljeneraid was defeated, but decided to head here to get better cards for my deck.

"And with that said, you sound like a total idiot." Nikki countered. "Why didn't you follow him, there's strength in numbers, you should know that."

"I don't need his help, because when it comes down to it, you're on your own. I made my way through the dueling world on my own and towards the end I intend on doing just so."

"Spoken like a true darkness duelist." Nikki sat back down. "Let me ask you something."

"What?"

"Have you lost a duel before this one?" Nikki asked.

"No of course not; I'm one of the top A-Ranks in the world, my record for my division is near flawless."

"_Near_ flawless?" Nikki raised her eyebrow. "If you're one of the top, why is your record not perfect?"

"Because, I'm human; I may win plenty of duels, but nonetheless, I have my own roadblocks here and there, all comes with not being perfect."

"OK then, another question; have you ever dueled without Shadow Commands, before your encounter with NOVA?"

"When I was a kid;" Karon replied. "The only one I had was Deathliger, but I didn't want to use it in case of it being stolen from the other kids."

"And what happened once you got older and began to use them?"

"I became a better duelist and people revered me as a Prodigy in the DM community."

"So this should tell you something shouldn't it?" Nikki asked. "The reason why you're at the status that you are at now is because your Shadow Commands were with you every step of the way…

Karon actually thought about it and sure enough she was right. Vile Mulder, Trox, Diablost, Giriel, Ballom… And most importantly Deathliger… Those where just a few of the many Shadow Commands that guided Karon towards his A-Rank, who gave him the title: Dark Reaper, the true king of the Shadow Commands, highly one of the strongest duelist in the DCA. He definitely wouldn't be here hadn't they been in his deck.

* * *

><p>His realization from earlier clicked in his mind, as he imagined those very creatures standing before him, joined by various other creatures from other civilizations that guided him as a kid; Melnia and Aqua Surfer, along with Marionmancer and Solderlight from the Water Civilization, all nodding, approving of his current ability.<p>

Karon suddenly heard a roar behind him as he turned back, seeing various Zombie Dragons, like Guljeneraid, Giland, Galzark… Being led by a Shadow Command dressed in skeletal armor with a Dragon Motif. That very creature walked up to Karon and nodded. He held his hand out to Karon as the ladder looked down. Karon grabbed his hand as the Daydream cut out.

* * *

><p>Karon opened his eyes seeing Nikki smiling at him. "If you need help building your new deck, I'm free."<p>

Karon smirked but shook his head. "Sorry, this is something I need to do on my own.

Nikki smiled and nodded. "I Understand." She handed Karon his deck back and turned to leave. "Keep in mind that you still need your rest, so I'd advise you take it easy before you start deck building."

Nikki made her way out the door.

"Nicole- err I mean, Dr. Carson…"

"What's the matter sweetheart?" Nikki asked without turning around.

"Thank you; For reuniting me with them."

Nikki smirked. "It's my Job. What teacher would I be if I didn't keep an eye on you from time to time?"

Karon nodded, counting his cards. "Hey hold on, there's only 39!"

Nikki held up Ballom, Master of Death in the air. "I'm borrowing him for a little bit. I want him to work in your new deck; Take this in the meantime, he should help out with those Dragons you got there."

Nikki reached into her pocket and tossed a card which Karon caught.

"Dark Jios, Dark Dragon Lord…" Karon read the top of the silver-bordered card as his Kaijudo Energy involuntarily sparked up. He responded with a smirk, eager to test it in his new deck.

"Make sure not to lose him." Nikki told him. "I'm gonna kill you if you do. And I'm so fearsome that calm demeanor of yours will make you crap yourself senseless."

Karon laughed. "Feeling better already…"

Nikki smiled. "I'll be back in a bit."

Nikki left the room and left Karon looking at his new card and Kage.

"It suits you." Kage told him.

Karon smirked. "What are you talking about…? All Shadow Commands suit me…"

* * *

><p>At the NOVA Base, Peyton aided a limping Marcus into the room where the other members watched from afar, last seeing the Pluto user a few hours prior.<p>

"You better have some reason bringing this disgrace before me Pluto…" Master Ryuusei growled.

"Sir, with all due respect, I brought him back to rescue his life. I humbly apologize and will accept any punishment that would deem acceptable. However, if I may…"

Peyton pulled out the Tsunami Catastrophe Gear from his pocket and held it up, alerting the other three members.

"Tsunami Catastrophe…?" Master Ryuusei noted. "Excellent work;"

"Thank you sir…" Peyton nodded.

"You should thank him Marcus; he saved your life twice."

"Twice…?" Marcus asked.

"Due to the Destruction of the Blazing Supernova, I have no use for you. But since I now have two of the five gears, I'm in a better mood; thus you're spared; dismissed you two."

"Yes sir!" the duo saluted; they walked out of the room as Ryuusei admired the two cards.

"Three more to go…" he smirked.

* * *

><p>In the joining corridor, June, Mike and Vanessa walked towards Marcus and Peyton, the tension starting to build between them already.<p>

"Well well, look what Peyton dragged in…" Mike started off.

"Mike, now's not a good time." June mentioned.

"Oh come on, just because he got his butt kicked and utterly failed in his mission? Wow how pathetic."

"That's enough Mike!" Peyton snapped.

Mike shrugged his shoulders and opened his book to start reading. He walked past the annoyed Marcus, who didn't resort to countering Mike's taunts.

"At any rate though…" Mike stopped for a second. "I'm happy that you're still alive, Marcus."

Marcus turned back, surprised that Mike of all people said that.

"It wouldn't be as much fun without a rival. Besides, Despite our differences… We're still a family."

Mike continued to walk, the other four now surprised that Mike of all people told Marcus of all people that.

Marcus smirked and nodded. "Without a doubt…"

[END]


	10. The Knight in Golden Armor

Chapter 10: The Knight in Golden Armor

* * *

><p>"Can't believe I lost…"<p>

* * *

><p><em>"Melnia, Break his final shield!"<em>

_Melnia did as she was ordered and shattered the last shield, being unblockable._

_"Dylan!" C.J. called out as the Water duelist breathed heavily._

_"Next turn you're finished…"_

_Dylan drew and set mana. "Like I said… It'll be a cold day in hell before you get this card from me! I Generate, and Cross Hydro Bazooka onto my Skull Hunter!_

_Hydro Cannon materialized and was armed onto Skull Hunter._

_"Skull Hunter, Attack Melnia and send Mercury back to his hand!"_

_Locking onto his targets, Skull jumped into the air, shooting Mercury out of the Battle Zone, shocking Mike. Once it landed, it tackled Melnia off the roof, who stabbed it repeatedly on the way down. Skull exploded with Melnia during the descent._

_"Because of Quick Defense's ability, I cross it onto Energion and end my turn."_

_"What an interesting plot twist…" Mike said impressed. "However…" he sets mana and taps 3 of them._

_"This is where It ends. I summon Aqua Guard and evolve it into Crystal Spinslicer…"_

_The shield wielding centaur materialized, showing that Mike was the victor._

_"Spinslicer Todomeda!"_

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I lost the Catastrophe Gear to him… Dammit!" Dylan slammed his open palms on the banister, catching the attention of a few liquid people who were walking by. They took a quick glance and went their way as Dylan sighed.<p>

Crystal Zweilancer materialized on his shoulder. "You need to rest. This stress isn't doing any benefit to your health."

"I know; it's just that…"

"Just what?" Lancer asked.

"I screwed up, big time." It's been 3 days since the duel; I have no idea where anyone else is, the Gear is gone; and I have no idea how to get back home, even if I wanted to."

"Well it's not something that you need to stress over." Lancer replied in a stern tone. "You already made up in your mind your plan of action, am I right?"

Dylan nodded. "Yeah I have. I'm getting the Gear back."

"That's good to hear." Lancer nodded in agreement.

Dylan nodded as well and looked outside; the various Leviathans gliding overhead with the smaller gel fish tagging along, and the Liquid people preforming combat training below in the courtyard. This technological civilization was very awe inspiring. It's been three days since Dylan regained consciousness, Three days since the duel in that he lost Neo Wave Catastrophe… For three days he roamed through the enormous Tube city that he awoke in, wondering where everyone was and if they were alive for that matter. The Cyber Lords and their Liquid People assistants floated back and forth with piles of information accompanying them, when in actuality, it looked like a bunch of aliens babysitting the little baby geniuses. Their Emperor, Quazla had them all working double time, trying to create new technology to defeat NOVA, asking their ally civilizations for help; the huge Cyborgs were in the Hangar being built while the smaller Androids underwent training to assist their Giant counterparts.

"By the way Lancer…" Dylan started.

"What is it?"

"This Emperor Quazla… Have you ever seen him?"

"Can't say I have; the emperor is guarded by the Water Civilizations' Royal Guard: Poseidon's Trident, the three most Elite Liquid People Creatures in the Water Civilization. He relays everything to his soldiers and never leaves his throne room.

"Wait hold on a sec…" Dylan turned to him. "Isn't Crystal Zweilancer a part of Poseidon's Trident?"

Lancer nodded. "I am indeed one of the members, along with Aqua Master and Aqua Ranger. For over 6,000 years we guarded him, unknown of what his intentions were. We were ordered to never question his majesty's wishes, we were just told to follow them.

"Is that right…?" Dylan sighed. "Some King; Don't you think that's weird?"

"What do you mean?" Lancer inquired.

"Remember when you told me that story of that Aqua Knight who chased after those Splash Queens because one of them had some Dragon Controlling ability?"

Lancer nodded.

"And even before that, how bad did Neo's attack fare on the Water Civilization?"

"The City was destroyed, and Neo's Creatures invaded the throne room. Quazla however managed to drive them away though; afterward we began to rebuild the city. Unfortunately however, the emperor hasn't left his throne room since, nor has anyone managed to enter except for a select few. All we knew from then on was that Fire and Nature posed a threat to our civilization and we had to use anything we can get against them. Even now, the citizens of the Water Civilization believe that NOVA has ties with those civilizations.

"But it's been 6000 years. Why hasn't he given up even after Neo's Rampage? And NOVA's the real threat so I still don't get it."

"You're gonna investigate aren't you?" Lancer assumed.

"Yes I am; and you're gonna help." Dylan nodded. He got from the banister and turned to walk down the hallway. Suddenly however, a group of Aqua Soldiers rose from the wet floor as they had their translucent weaponry pointed at Dylan. Dylan instinctively held his hands up and slowly took a step back.

"Well this was kinda expected…" He said weary of his situation.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lancer demanded.

"Orders from the Emperor…" a voice said as the Aqua Soldiers stepped aside. The Creature was a blue humanoid with yellow cords on his arms and legs. On his right wrist he was armed with a red blaster-like weapon and his left hand wielded a red dagger. Around his next was a red scarf, damaged from countless battles. It's red eyes glimmered with pleasure as he approached them.

"Aqua Ranger, what is the meaning of this?" Lancer asked again.

"That human is a spy of NOVA. The Emperor has ordered us to detain him at all costs."

"What? Are you crazy?" Dylan snapped. "You really expect me to be a spy for them?"

"All Humans are evil…" Aqua Ranger said with just as much venom in his voice as Dylan shot at him. "The Fire civilization has the nerve to side with NOVA and with their Humans they have begun to take over. Emperor Quazla knows what he's doing. He's going to save us from your tyrannical rule. Arrest him!"

One of the soldiers nodded and went after Dylan to handcuff him.

"No chance!" Dylan balled up his fist and socked him, causing it to fall back on the floor. The other soldiers looked at him and realized what he did to their comrade. A few more ran towards him to attack him. One of the soldiers lunged forward, but Dylan jumped back and kicked it back, followed by ducking a hook from another and spin kicking the very same into the wall next to them. The rest of them went after him and Dylan demonstrated his fighting skills to the point where the soldiers were all put in submission, except for Aqua Ranger.

Aqua Ranger whistled in amazement. "Not bad; However…" He snapped his fingers which summoned new soldiers from the puddles under his feet.

"I have more ready to go."

"Oh crap…" Dylan said, noticing that the second batch of soldiers didn't look so thrilled.

"Nice move genius." Lancer scolded.

"Just shut up!" Dylan turned and ran in the opposite direction, away from the soldiers.

"After them; kill them if necessary!" Aqua Ranger ordered.

Dylan shot down the hallway, dodging laser bullets from the enemy, while at the same time evading the other inhabitants of the 'battlefield.'

"No offense, but your emperor is really screwed up in the head." Dylan commented as he opened his deck case. "I wonder…"

He stopped in his tracks and turned back, holding "Typhoon Bazooka" in his hand. His hand began to spark blue as the card did as well.

"Cross Over!" he called out. Two Purple Water tanks materialized on his back as his right arm gained a cannon-like weapon connected to the tanks.

"Fire!" Ranger ordered his soldiers who continued their assault.

"Gladly…" Dylan aimed and shot, the torrent of water overtaking the Soldiers and sending them back. He turned back and continued to run.

"That should by us some time." Lancer noticed.

"I was actually going for this to end it."

"The emperor wouldn't quit this easily. We still have Aqua Master to deal with; that's if he's following his orders."

"The odds of that…?"

"Pretty high unfortunately;"

"Well that's good to know…" Dylan cut another corner and quickly punched in a code to a keypad next to the door blocking him. The door slid open as he dashed inside the elevator that would take him back up to the surface.

"Well at any rate we should be good for now right?" Dylan asked as he watched himself go higher from the tube city.

A Loud roar could be heard in their underwater surroundings as More Liquid People riding on Leviathans sped towards them, being led by Aqua Master riding on a King Depthcon, while his soldiers on King Corals.

"You can't escape us now NOVA Scum!" Aqua Master readied his sword.

"This is bad!" Dylan determined. "If they destroy the Shaft, I could drown."

The shaft suddenly shook as Dylan looked down seeing the room under him smoke amidst the water.

"It stopped!" he realized. "They must've destroyed the control panel." He looked back and saw Aqua Master move faster towards them.

"We're screwed…"

"Like that's going to happen!" Lancer said. He disappeared from Dylan's shoulder as the Gold Centaur shot from the watery deep to intercept Aqua Master.

"Stop this now!" Lancer ordered

"Zweilancer, Move aside, we need to capture this NOVA Spy, dead or alive."

"I refuse to budge; he's no spy, he's one of the Humans who saved our world from the Death Phoenix; he's an ally of ours."

"It doesn't matter, what the Emperor says goes, now move aside before I cut you down."

"Have you forgotten that The Avatar of Hope entrusted his Jewel to him? If you attack him then that's an act of treason to the Avatars themselves!" Lancer warned.

"Lancer… We have been allies, friends for thousands of years… With that said, you know better than anyone how loyal I am to his Highness…"

"Very well… if that's the case…" Zweilancer readied his lances and readied his stance. "You'll have to destroy me to get to him!"

"Lancer!" Dylan shouted. "What are you thinking!"

"I'm doing my duty as your Partner." He replied confident. "I'll lay my life on the line for you."

"So be it…" Aqua Master charged as the two of them locked weapons. The two Creatures took hit after hit with Dylan watching in awe at the strength the two Water creatures demonstrated.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, the fight was being monitored, transmitting into a dark throne room. The giant black claw of the residing one tapped the arm rest of his throne as he watched, leaning on his normal sized arm. The black Cyber Lord smirked as he watched his soldiers battle each other.<p>

"Looks like everything's going according to plan…" The creature spoke.

"I knew it would be a Good idea to take control of them to make them turn on Zweilancer…" Michael's voice echoed as he came into the light. "But what's even better is that you're still alive… Neo Quazla."

The creature turned to his companion. "With NOVA's help, not only will our enemies be destroyed but also the Kaijin no Sekai will be ours to control; and after 6,000 years, it will all be mine!"

* * *

><p>"Lancer! Lancer!" Dylan banged against the glass tube to try to catch his attention, however Lancer ignored him and turned all his focus on his new enemy.<p>

"Stop Ignoring me! Stop this you're going to get yourself killed!"

The platform suddenly shook under his feet as it started to move downward, to his shock.

"Lancer! The elevator's going back down!" Dylan shouted.

Lancer took his eyes off of it to see it happening. And that split second was all that Aqua Master needed.

Aqua Master brought his blade over his head and slashed Crystal Zweilancer completely down his back. The Armored Warrior screamed in immense pain as he slowly descended downward.

"Crap, they must've fixed the panel or something…" Dylan noticed the shadow overhead and turned, looking in horror as Zweilancer sunk to the bottom past him.

"LANCER!" Dylan shouted as he watched helplessly as his partner sunk to the bottom.

"Dy…lan. Run…!" Lancer tried to speak. He continued to fall until the loud boom of his body echoed in the deep waters.

Dylan looked on devastated. "I lost the Gear, have no idea where my friends are, Have no way of getting back home… and Lancer is dead…" Dylan leaned back and curled up in disgrace as he patiently waited being arrested by the Army that resided under him.

* * *

><p>From a distance, Karon watched from his Infirmary window the events that unfolded. He looked at his newly built deck and turned back at the window. Dark Jios materialized on his shoulder and then turned to him.<p>

"Any idea on how you're gonna get to him?" Jios asked in Kage's voice.

"Trying to figure that out now..." Karon replied. "I may be able to use the Water Civilization but as for navigating, that's something completely different.

"_Don't worry about it, I can help with that; After all, I did build this city when I was just a baby after all…"_ A young voice reassured him from behind.

Karon heard the voice and smirked. "So I guess Nikki knows about it now that she told you, Wyatt…"

The young blonde-haired boy walked up closer to him. He wore a Gold-colored shirt and a zipped blue vest with blue jeans and white sneakers.

"She told me that Dylan was found on the outside of the Entrance of the Civilization three days ago; a Group of Aqua Soldiers found him and brought him here to recover. And now, this whole crap about him being a NOVA spy has the whole city in a panic, with everyone not listening to reason."

"So where is he now?"

"If I had to guess, it'd probably be the Gallows, the dungeon of Emperor Quazla's section. All prisoners are taken there; unfortunately 90% of them are all innocent."

"So we're dealing with a king who enforces his own stupid rules as a hobby?"

"Most likely… I remember him when he was still an Emeral… God was he such a pain in the butt. Claiming to be the smartest being in the water civilization, he was convinced that everything he said was the truth and any opinion besides his own was wrong, regardless of whom it was. Once he evolved, he became the emperor and for over 6,000 years no one questioned his judgment. If you'd try anything against him, The Poseidon's Trident, his Trio of Skilled Warriors would keep you from doing anything."

"Well if anything, it's a duo now." Karon looked, referring to Zweilancer's unresponsive body down below.

Wyatt chuckled. "What did you really think that Sarina had that Body Transfer power to herself?"

Karon turned and raised his eyebrow.

"Sarina's version of it is a bit of a mystical way. Mine, is technological."

"Meaning…?"

"All creatures in the water civilization are basically robots. Even if it's just a tiny part of them, like a microchip in their bodies, they each have the ability to be rebuilt or upgraded to fit their needs. And as for Zweilancer, I have an idea on how we can get him back on his feet. I'll contact my engineers in the Hangar so they can get him. At most, it should take them at least 45 minutes to get him back. Meaning that you have that much time to search for him on your own; I have to go down there and make sure they don't screw this up.

"45 minutes huh…? Yeah ok that's do-able."

"OK then. Take this." Wyatt took an arc-like device and attached it to his deck case.

"It's a communicator that's powered by your deck case, Via Kaijudo Energy. If you have any problems, or I need to contact you, use that.

"I feel like a Power Ranger with this…"

"Why, are you complaining?"

Karon looked back at it and shrugged his shoulders. "Not really, no."

"OK then, See you in a bit." Wyatt ran out the room but stopped short. "Before I go, Nikki wanted to give this to you." Wyatt turned back and tossed the card. "She modified it a bit so it should be easier to use in that new deck of yours."

Karon looked at the card and nodded, sliding it into his deck case. "OK then, let's get started…"

* * *

><p>Dylan sat in a corner of his cell as he bounced a handball he kept in his pocket at the wall a few feet away.<p>

"_All alone in his Cell, the Water duelist, who was deemed a traitor by his allies sat angry and hurt at the same time, the only thing wandering in his mind is who put him in this situation, and how was he going to get out…"_

"That voice…" Dylan recognized.

"Enjoying your stay?" Mike asked as he walked over to the cell.

"It was you wasn't it…?" Dylan growled. "You put me in here to cover your butt right?"

"Au contraire…" Mike corrected. "I didn't put you in here. This was entirely the emperor's decision… I just enforced it with this nice toy of mine." Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote-control-like device.

"That's a Command Device Cross Gear…" Dylan recognized. "I heard Cyber Lords saying that it was stolen recently."

"Yup, I've been using it to control both Aqua Master and Aqua Ranger and their soldiers." Mike revealed. "They objected to the Emperor's decision, but with a bit of influence, they saw that he was right after all…"

"You're so damn twisted you know that? What do you hope to gain from this?"

"Well for starters, they'll be one less pest in our way, the Water Civilization will be under our control, which means that 1/5 of the Kaijin no Sekai is NOVA's territory… And my book can have an ending that goes in my favor…"

"Yeah you're definitely twisted…"

Michael smirked and adjusted his glasses. "Anything else you want to say before I leave you to rot?"

"Kettou da…" Dylan replied almost immediately. "I'm gonna take you down and save the Water Civilization."

"Save? What can you possibly do? Mercury will demolish your creatures again and I have the Gear in my possession; There's no need to duel because: You-Can't-Beat-Me! However…"

Mike unlocked the cell door and pushed Dylan outside. "I wouldn't mind restating the obvious…"

Mike clamped on handcuffs to keep Dylan from assaulting him with Gears or anything of that nature as he lead him out of the dungeon and back up a few floors.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, Dylan stared in awe at the gold plated door in front of him.<p>

Mike punched in a code and it slid open, prompting Dylan to follow.

"So, this is Zweilancer's Human…" the Dark voice of the emperor assumed.

Dylan's eyes became wide as he started at the creature. "That's Emperor… Quazla?"

"Correction: Emperor Neo Quazla…" Mike confirmed, shocking Dylan even more. "The last surviving Neo Creature…" Mike pressed a button on his case, triggering the K-Terminals in the floor to rise.

"Now then…" Five shields materialized in front of Mike as Dylan got his act together and did the same.

"_The fate of the Water Civilization is riding on this duel… Lancer, I wish you were here with me… This is for you; Old friend…"_ Dylan drew his five cards and started determined at Mike, ready to crush him at all costs.

"DUEL START!"

[END]


	11. The Dragon in Golden Armor

Chapter 11: The Dragon in Golden Armor

* * *

><p><em>[Manhattan NYC, 2011]<em>

* * *

><p>"So Riley, what are you going to teach me today?" the twelve-year old Dylan asked the older girl as they walked down the street of their neighborhood.<p>

"Actually there's a Card shop that's been growing in popularity that Jamie's brother told me about." Riley replied. "You wanna check it out?"

"You're just going because your boyfriend told you huh…?" Dylan asked, earning him a glare from the older girl.

"How many times do I have to tell you he's not my boyfriend?" Riley snarled.

"Oh so it's Shinji you have a crush on…"

"Eww, I'd rather have Jason."

"Aha! So it's true then!"

"Shut up you brat!" Riley yelled frustrated.

Continuing down the street, they finally made it to the shop, the shop owner, a tall Middle Eastern man greeted them.

"Welcome to TCG Towers, how can I help you two this morning?"

"Well actually we're just browsing. We heard that this shop has been talked about quite a bit recently." Riley replied, over her mood thanks to Dylan.

"Yes, my Son has indeed brought a lot of Duel Masters players to the shop all wanting to take a crack at him.

"Your son…?" Riley perked up. "Karon Davidson's your son?"

"Yes he is actually…" the man said proudly.

"You hear that bro?" Riley turned to her left and realized that Dylan disappeared.

"Dylan?" She looked around. "Aw jeez where did he go?"

"I think I see him." Mr. Davidson pointed over to the display window where Dylan stared at the various Japanese Duel Masters cards, more specifically the Water Civilization's Cyber Creatures.

"I see he favors water cards." Mr. Davidson assumed.

"Yeah I guess you can say that." Riley replied crossing her arms. "He's a real techie for his age. Loves video games, computers the whole nine yards; that and he loves getting wet.

"Is he your little brother?"

"Sort of; My Grandmother babysits him and his baby sister while his parents are at work so we've pretty much grown up with each other."

"Well it's nice to see older kids take care of the younger ones." Mr. Davidson nodded in agreement. "He seems to be about my Son's age as a matter of fact."

"Is that right… Is he around?" Riley asked.

"_Ballom, Master of Death, break his last two shields, Deathliger Todomeda!"_

"Sounds like he just won another duel." The man said turning around.

The young 13 year old Karon collected his cards and slid the deck in his pocket, walking over towards his dad.

"Won again son?"

Karon nodded confidently. "Wasn't too tough; Those K-Terminals do make the duels interesting. Unfortunately it's the same Skill level with all of these kids who think their top-notch."

"Ouch, that's pretty harsh don't you think?" Riley asked.

Karon gave her a glare and shrugged her off.

Dylan ran back still hyped from seeing the Japanese cards in the window.

"Riley, have you ever seen the Japanese cards? They looks SOOOOOO much cooler than the lame English ones, like this one I saw, it's name is Twilight Sigma, and I already know that card and I are destined to be with-

Dylan turned around noticing Karon standing with the group.

"You're that stuck-up jerk from school…" Dylan glared.

Riley grabbed Dylan's ear unexpectedly. "And this is his dad… Apologize."

"Why should I? This kid puts down every player at school and brutally beats them. Just because he's won a few tournaments doesn't make him Shobu Kirifuda or anything."

Karon took out his deck and nodded. "Challenge accepted."

Dylan cut his rant short and turned. "Say what now?"

"I accept your challenge." He replied again. "Talking like that you sound like you can beat me; I wanna see that for myself if you don't mind."

Dylan smiled and nodded. He got his deck from his pocket and held it out in front of him.

"Get ready, because the Storm's coming." Dylan said determined.

Karon nodded. "Bring it on…"

Riley smiled at the determination in both of their faces, but her attention suddenly grew noticing slight, faint sparks coming from their hands. She thought she was seeing things… but even so…

The two went to a traditional table and set their cards on them.

"You ready?" Karon asked.

"Oh yeah…" Dylan replied.

"DUEL…"

* * *

><p><em>[Present Time]<em>

* * *

><p>"START!"<p>

Dylan set Water mana and ended his turn, while Mike drew and did the same as well.

Dylan drew and set light mana, tapping both.

"I Summon EL Kaiou, Jet King"

A Blue, Grey and Gold jet-like machine materialized behind Dylan as it then transformed into a Cyborg, landing behind him.

"Starting off with the blockers early huh…?" Mike questioned. "In that case…" He set Darkness mana and tapped both.

"I'll summon Melnia, the Aqua Shadow."

Melnia materialized behind Mike and crossed her arms.

Dylan drew and set mana. "I Summon Skull Hunter, Osmosis Cyborg and end."

Skull Hunter Materialized next to El Kaiou as Mike went ahead with his turn. He set Light mana and tapped all three.

"I cast Valiant Spark and I tap El Kaiou; Melnia attack El Kaiou!"

Melnia's fists developed an electrical aura as she punched El Kaiou, short circuiting it. The Malfunctioning Robot grabbed a hold of Melnia and exploded, taking the creature along with it.

Neo Quazla studied the two intently finding their skills interesting despite the duel in its first turns.

Dylan drew and set mana. "I cast Energy Stream and draw two cards." Dylan sent the spell to mana and drew his cards. "Skull Hunter, break his shields ike!"

Skull Hunter aimed his cannon and shot one of his shields to pieces.

Mike took the shield and added it to his hand. Then he drew and set mana. "I cast Eureka Charger and draw a card. Then I use my remaining mana to summon Aqua Guard."

Guard materialized and screeched ready to defend Mike.

Dylan drew and set mana. "That Blocker isn't going to save you, I hope you know that. I summon Both Energion and El Kaiou."

The duo of Cyborgs materialized with Skull Hunter as Skull charged his cannon.

"Skull Hunter Break his shield Ike!"

Skull Hunter took out a second shield, as the shards shot past Mike and circled around Neo Quazla.

"Shield Trigger: I Evolve Guard into Neo Emperor Quazla…"

The Shards absorbed Neo Quazla as they then reformed into an Evo Crystal that Guard accepted with a sly intent. The creature turned black as it mutated into the Neo Creature.

"Oh crap that's not good…" Dylan realized.

"Neo Quazla, is a 6-mana, 10,000 Powered Blocker Shield Trigger Creature that can evolve on a Water Creature or Darkness creature. And when it blocks, I draw a card while you discard one." Michael explained.

"In other words, I'm screwed aren't I?"

"Pretty much…" Michael smirked.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Wyatt goes over his notes on his revival project and looks at the work that his team got done.<p>

"Looks like everything's set." Wyatt said proudly. "How's thing's coming Karon?"

* * *

><p>Karon, armed with Hell Sabers Via. Cross Over and Melnia hack-and-slash their way through the army of Liquid People that blocked their way. Once the creatures were knocked out, Karon talked into his Communicator to reply to the Avatar.<p>

"We've made it to the entrance of the dungeon."

_"Great, the Modifications on Zweilancer are just about done. Just need to get Dylan to use this card and he'll be back on his feet."_

Karon made his way down the stairs and ran past the cells looking for Dylan.

"_Another Human!"_

"_Free us, we're innocent!"_

"_Our Emperor is a Neo Creature!"_

"_He imprisoned us for defying his wishes!"_

"_Stop him at all costs!"_

Karon stopped and turned, looking at all of the innocent creatures, not just from the water civilization. A baby's wail was heard as the Young Cavern Raider cradled her baby, her tears falling on her baby.

"Dylan's not here… But everyone else is…" Karon told him.

_"He's not… Shoot."_ Wyatt snkicered._ "Ok, get back here and come get Zweilancer. Then find Dylan."_

"_Another Human took him to the Emperor…"_

Karon turned around and saw a Marinomancer sitting on his toy frog, juggling the orbs in his hands out of boredom. "The throne room is located East from here. It'll have a Gold-plated door, can't miss it.

"And what about getting you guys out?"

"If you try to, then Quazla's guards will be down here in no time flat. Trust me, the longer we stay locked up, the better chance we have to survive.

Karon nodded. "I'm on my way Wyatt…" he and Melnia then turned and ran back up the stairs…

* * *

><p>Dylan stared at the huge creature, not liking the odds he was faced with. He took a deep breath and drew his card. He smiled and set one of the two cards in mana.<p>

"Vortex Evolution: Energion and Skull Hunter, Vortex Evolve into Raiser, the Ice Comet!"

The Vortex Evo materialized from where Skull and Energion stood as it stared at the blocker, ready to end it.

"What's a pathetic Mermaid going to do?" Neo Quazla taunted.

"Raiser, Double Break ike!" Dylan ordered as Raiser swiped the shields with its tail. The shards glistened as they regenerated into the Battle Zone.

"Shield Trigger: Aqua Surfer to the Battle Zone; Return El Kaiou back to your hand."

Surfer materialized and pushed Kaiou away from them as the card popped back into Dylan's hand.

"I end." Dylan said.

Mike drew and set mana. "It's a shame; You were more useless than I had imagined…"

Neo Quazla turned. "What's that supposed to mean you insolent human?"

"I Summon Aqua Guard; And then: Galaxy Vortex Evolution!" Michael revealed Mercury in his hand, shocking Neo Quazla.

"You wouldn't dare!" Neo Quazla shouted.

"Aqua Guard, Aqua Surfer… Neo Quazla…"

"DON'T DO IT!" Neo Quazla Screamed in fear.

"Evolve into Mercury, the Frozen Supernova!"

Guard and Surfer jumped onto Quazla, holding it down as they fused with his body. The Neo Creature screamed in agony as the creature evolved further into Mercury, losing all track of his presence.

"You… Betrayed him?" Dylan asked dumbfounded.

Mike smirked. "Well in a way its good isn't it?"

Dylan hesitated before answering.

"The Neo Creatures were a threat, to everyone. With the final one destroyed, the Water Civilization's citizens and all of the creatures imprisoned are now able to go free without any problems, now that the dictator's gone for good."

"But how does this benefit NOVA?"

"Oh that's simple. It's one less deadweight in our way."

"You guys are monsters…" Dylan snarled.

"Call us what you want, the fact remains that we took out the Neo Creature; and Trust me, He was more of a threat to the Water Civilization than we are now... Now then Mercury: Triple Break!"

Mercury unleashed its power as the shards blasted past Dylan as the three shields shattered.

"Shield Trigger X: Quick Defense, cross onto Raiser!" Dylan called out as he withstood the blast.

The aura-like gear generated and crossed onto the Phoenix.

"I end my turn."

Dylan drew and set mana.

"I Summon Novadragon Seventh."

A Gold-colored Solar Dragon materialized next to Raiser. It's arms were connected to blue electric streams as it's yellow flame-like wings spread all across his backside. He held two sun-like orbs in his hands as well.

"Solar Dragons, that's a new one.

"All of my dragons have blocker. "Raiser, Break his final shield!"

Raiser dove past mercury and took out the final shield, which shattered.

"Shield Trigger X: Maximum Defense." Michael revealed as the Gear crossed onto Mercury.

"Mercury loses its ability to attack, however it gains +5000 power and blocker. This is the Ultimate Defense." Michael drew his next card and set surfer into the battle zone.

"Return Raiser back to your hand." Michael pointed as Surfer washed it away.

"Crap…" Dylan snickered.

"I wonder what the Hero's going to do, now that the odds are stacked against him. A 20,000 powered blocker isn't something that can be overcome easily…"

The doors suddenly busted open, revealing Karon and Wyatt in the doorway.

"Karon!" Dylan realized. "And Wyatt too?"

"Long time no see." Wyatt waved.

"Dylan, catch." He tossed the card over to Dylan as he caught it. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

"You really think Lancer would let you do this on your own?" Wyatt asked. "Now then, finish this duel and get my gear back!"

Dylan smirked and nodded.

"Whatever you just got won't save you now, I can guarantee that for sure.

"Really now…" Dylan tapped his seven mana. "Novadragon Seventh, Evolve into: Super Torrentdragon Zaum Poseidam!"

"What?" Michael realized as he watched the Solar Dragon evolve into the Gold-armored Hydro Dragon. It was a Three-Headed gold serpent, with armor similar to Zweilancer's Gold armor. It wielded Diamond- like swords and was surrounded by red orb-like shields that protected him. It roared announcing its rebirth as it looked down at Dylan.

"Lancer…?" Dylan asked to which the Dragon nodded.

Dylan smirked and nodded. "Right then… Super Torrentdragon Zaum Poseidam: TODOMEDA!"

The Dragon Roared and disappeared in a blur. Michael was blown back by the gale winds as he flew into the air, while various slash marks appeared all over mercury. Mercury roared in agonizing pain as it as well exploded, meeting it's fate.

Michael bounced on the floor, dropping his book, which shot out Neo Wave Catastrophe from one of the pages. Dylan walked over and picked Michael up and set him on Quazla's throne, despite it being three times his size.

"Well well; that was a real plot twist." Michael groaned.

"The only reason why I'm not beating you senseless is because you destroyed Neo Quazla. So in a way, I do thank you for that."

"And this is an even bigger one at that… So now what…?"

Dylan turned to Wyatt who shrugged his shoulders.

"Without his Supernova, he's no threat to us. Let him go." Wyatt told him. "Besides, with the Emperor gone, we need a replacement."

"I'll fill in for the time being…"

The group looked up and saw the Marinomancer from the dungeon float into the room.

"I leave for two days and that stupid Emeral disrupted my kingdom and locked me away, the nerve of that brat."

"Yeah sure, that works out nicely." Wyatt nodded.

"Wait, so you're…" Dylan pointed.

"I'm the Real Emperor of the Water Civilization. Two days prior to Neo's Strike, I traveled out to try to make peace between the Light and Darkness Civilizations. Once I heard of Neo's damage, I rushed back and came face to face with a corrupted Emeral. He stole my Evo crystal and locked me in a cell for over 6,000 years." Marinomancer explained. "I'm grateful that you defeated Neo Quazla."

"Haha, well technically… Michael here is the one who did it."

Marinomancer turned and nodded. "In that case I appreciate your help in overthrowing him.

Michael blushed slightly but cleared his throat. "Until we meet again." He got up and limped out the room. "Remember though, this doesn't change anything: NOVA will succeed in its plans; You can guarantee that for sure…"

Wyatt crossed his arms. "Well he seemed nice…"

* * *

><p>A while later, Dylan and Karon stood outside the Border of the Water Civilization along with Wyatt and Nicole who were sending them off.<p>

"So, where should we head next?" Dylan asked.

"CJ's probably heading towards the Fire Civilization to look for Jamie." Karon figured. "And if my geography is right, the Light Civilization isn't too far from here. We're better off looking for Jake before meeting up with them."

"That sounds like a plan." Wyatt replied, agreeing.

"You two are going to be alright?" Nikki asked.

Dylan nodded. "Don't worry about us. You guys helped more than needed. We can take it from here."

Wyatt nodded. "Alright then… Take this though Dylan." He handed him an arc as well.

"What is this, a communicator?" Dylan examined.

"How did you know that?" Wyatt asked as he was about to explain.

Dylan laughed. "I'm a Techie; I can tell what things are miles away." He attached his device onto his case and looked back at the duo. "Thanks again for the help."

"Our pleasure; We still owe you guys for everything you've done for us." Nikki replied.

Karon turned and started walking. "If we keep talking then we'll never leave."

"Hey wait up!" Dylan turned. "See ya guys!" he ran to catch up, with Wyatt and Nikki waving them goodbye.

"Let's get to work." Nikki told Wyatt, who nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p><em>[Manhattan NYC, 2011]<em>

* * *

><p>"Aqua Knight, Evolve into Crystal Lancer: Todomeda!" Dylan tapped his creature, beating Karon. Riley and Mr. Davidson were shocked at the outcome and so was Karon surprisingly.<p>

"Dylan… When did you…" Riley asked.

"I practiced a whole lot. I was determined to beat Karon the second I met him, to show him that no one in the dueling world's perfect…"

Karon smirked and nodded. "I want a rematch."

Dylan looked at him like he was crazy. "A Rematch…?"

"Yeah come on! I wanna try that again. You're not summoning Lancer a second time. Besides, that was fun…"

Those last three words hit Mr. Davidson's ears almost immediately, words that he longed for his loner son to hear. "Looks like you made a friend Karon."

Karon turned to his dad and then back at Dylan, who smiled and held his hand out.

"Friends?" Dylan asked.

Karon was a little speechless but grabbed his hand. "Friends…"

[END]


	12. Kazoku no kizuna

Chapter 12: Kazoku no kizuna

"So then what happened?" Kachua leaned forward towards Tsume as he continued his story.

"Well after the girls summoned their Phoenixes, Jamie ordered her Phoenix to attack the Soul Phoenix. That's when I heroically stopped it." Tsume gloated.

C.J. meanwhile sat in the tree sighing. "Don't you mean _we_ heroically stopped it?"

"Oh you were there? Oh yeah, you fainted the second we got there."

"What do you mean I fainted when we got there?"

"When we got there, you were scared out of your mind that you saw two big phoenixes and you fainted."

"Is that true?" Kachua turned to C.J. in the tree.

"No it's not! I did faint but that was after Sarina mentioned I summoned Tsume into my dimension."

"And then that's when you freaked out and fainted." Tsume added.

C.J. got irritated by Tsume's twisted story of intervening the event in the Shopping mall the months back and turned his head to the sky.

"When is this Dragon coming to take us to the Fire Civilization anyway?"

"Give him a minute; Old Age would make anyone slow…" Kachua replied calmly.

"You're in a rush aren't you?" Tsume taunted.

"Shut up you stupid cat."

"I'm a dragon now, are you blind or what?" Tsume retorted but he slowly turned to Kachua, who despite being blind herself, gave him the stink eye.

"That didn't come out right…" the dragon said putting his foot in his mouth.

"Got that right…" Kachua replied.

A Deep Roar suddenly echoed, causing C.J. to fall from the tree in fright, fortunately landing on Tsume's back.

"There he is!" Kachua smiled as she turned in the direction of the sound.

Amongst the trees, a White colored Eastern Dragon with snow-white wings flew towards them.

"That Dragon looks awesome!" C.J. stared.

"That's Super Terradragon Balis Gale, but most of us just call him Grandpa Balis. He's was one of Elder Niofa's partners in the days of old, when the civilizations were in war for dominance." Kachua explained.

"And he's still alive after all these years?" C.J. asked still awe struck.

"Remember what I said kid? Creatures don't die from old age. As long as they keep themselves from getting killed, they can live for as long as time itself." Tsume reminded.

"My, you young whippersnappers are so impatient." Balis scolded with its elderly manner. The White dragon landed softly on the ground as it leaned forward towards them.

"Sorry Grandpa." Kachua rubbed its snout. "Ready to head out guys?"

"The real question is he ready to head out?" C.J. pointed.

Kachua turned back and realized that the Elderly Dragon fell asleep.

"GRANDPA!" Kachua screamed, causing Balis gale to nearly have a heart attack.

"What? Can't you see that I'm trying to take a nap? My you whippersnappers are so impatient." The Old dragon grumbled.

"Maybe we should head out before he falls asleep again." Tsume suggested.

"Good thinking."

Kachua and C.J. got on Balis Gale's back as Tsume flew up into the air with them.

"Hold on tight!" Balis Gale said, his demeanor suddenly becoming devilish.

"Suddenly I don't like the sound of Thaaaaaaat!" C.J. screamed as Balis Gale suddenly hit Mach 3 in 2 seconds flat.

Tsume, the event happening all too fast just looked in awe.

"Damn…" Tsume said in amazement. "Gramps has speed!" Tsume extended his metallic wings and shot after them to catch up.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the Fire Civilization, A young Japanese girl looks across the Horizon of the humid mountain top, staring out across the wasteland. Her hair was black, extending a bit past her shoulders as she wore a dark green short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Her arm bands were red and her ancient-looking deck case was strapped to her arm.<p>

The young girl sighed in defeat not seeing what she was looking for out there.

"Do you see anything Sarina?" Jamie's voice echoed as she made her way up to the top, revealing to have her hoodie tied around her waist revealing her black shirt, which doesn't really help Jamie as much.

The girl shook her head. "Just rocks, lava and more rocks…"

Jamie nodded. "Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

"Positive." Blaze flew overhead and landed next to the two girls. "My Ancestor's Armor was hidden away at the Grave Site of my Father.

Sarina looked at blaze and stared in shock. "You never mentioned that!"

Jamie looked at the girl oddly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I know exactly where the Royal Family's burial ground is. The Fire birds that are associated with the Dragons are buried there as well." Sarina pointed to a volcano east of them; it was clearly visible, however there was no telling how long it was going to take to get there.

"It's over there, on Mount Inferno." Sarina called it. "It's the burial place of the Very First Bolshack Dragon: Bolshack Yamato Dragon; one of the greatest warriors in the Kaijin no Sekai's history."

"What did he do?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Well from what I remember growing up, Yamato was one of the Generals of the Fire Civilization Army during times of the Civil War. He and his Brother in Arms, Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon, defended this land against the invading armies of the other civilizations, at the cost of their own lives. Their bodies were buried on that mountain, along with their armor which serves as their tombstones.

"Jason has a Bolmeteus Samurai Dragon card… Is it the same one?" Jamie turned.

"Probably; would only make sense right, The Brother in Arms, shared with two Flame Siblings." Sarina joked.

Jamie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we were always like that. As Fire Duelists, we decided to follow our own tradition. Since Bolshack Dragon and Bolmeteus Steel Dragon is a popular pair in the DCA World, we decided to keep every variation in our decks as we moved on. To show, that our relationship is strong, no matter how far we are from each other." Jamie realized what she was saying and turned to Sarina. "Oh man, I'm so sorry I didn't…"

"Haha, don't worry about it;" Sarina shook off. "I'm fine, it's been over two months, I'm over it… However, for now let's get moving, before any NOVA Agents show up."

Jamie nodded as the two got on Blaze's back and flew off.

* * *

><p>At the NOVA Airship, Ryuusei sat silently, irritated that Michael lost the gear once again, pushing them back from where they were. On top of that, two of his Phoenixes were destroyed, leaving June, Vanessa and Peyton to gather the four remaining cross gears.<p>

* * *

><p>Vanessa stood outside of the ship's balcony looking at the vast sea of clouds as the ship soared coincidentally towards the fire civilization. She unzipped her blazer, revealing her yellow shirt as the heat began to rise.<p>

"Feeling homesick?" June's voice echoed from behind.

Vanessa turned and saw the other girl, eating another granny smith apple. June stood next to her as the two girls continued to look out.

"I do… I miss the times where it was just the five of us." Vanessa admitted. "Despite being orphans and all, we were all we had."

June nodded. "It's been Five years since that day… The day that he brought us here to this world."

"Do you…" Vanessa started.

"Do you ever wonder whatever happened to your parents?" June asked Vanessa.

Vanessa shook her head. "Like you guys, I don't remember them; I've been in an orphanage all of my life."

June nodded in understanding.

"But it's not like it matters;" Vanessa reassured herself. "You guys are my family regardless I have parents or not." She draws a card from her deck and summons Gran Gure to arrive at the side of the ship.

"Where are you going?" June asked.

Vanessa hopped over the balcony and landed on Gran Gure. "Master Ryuusei promised us a new world for us if we helped him get the Gears. I'm going to get them and give my family a world to live in."

"Hold on, you seen what they're capable of, they beat Marcus and Michael." June countered.

"And Peyton and I beat the other two without much effort." Vanessa countered. "I'm getting those gears." Vanessa then flew off with June reaching out for her…

"Be careful sis…" June whispered to herself.

* * *

><p>Jamie and Sarina landed at the foot of Mount Inferno, a path in front of them sure enough leading them up the mountain.<p>

"The armor should be along this path somewhere." Blaze told the girls, to which they both nodded. They turned and began to walk as Blaze flew upward to check for signs of danger.

Sarina and Jamie walked quietly together as they made their way up, but Jamie stopped suddenly in her tracks. Sarina turned to see the girl staring at the ground with a worried expression on her face.

"Something wrong…?" Sarina asked.

Jamie shook her head. "It's just… What was your relationship with C.J.?"

Sarina's face turned bright red by the sudden question as she fumbled through her words.

"I was sort of like his mentor." Sarina settled for that. "I helped him with his Kaijudo Training to get ready for the battle with Drake."

"Is that all?" Jamie asked.

Sarina quickly nodded. "Yes that's all!"

"I see…; did he have feelings for you…?"

Sarina's face once again turned red again. "Hold on, what's all these questions all of the sudden?"

"It's just that… When you died in his arms back then; it made me wonder if he really did have feelings for me like he said he did…"

* * *

><p><em>"Death Phoenix…" Drake raised his fingers into the air as Sarina looked on.<em>

_"It's a shame… It looks like death doesn't want you." Sarina told her brother._

_Drake shook his head. "He doesn't want me… He __is __me… Todomeda…!"_

_Death Phoenix charged its black flames and shot them towards Sarina. Something told her to turn around. She did and saw something that made her feel at ease…_

_"C.J…" She whispered to herself._

_Sarina's Body flew into the air and crashed hard against the roof floor as she bled from her landing. C.J. raced over in Mach speed to get to her._

_"Sarina…!" He shook her to try and wake her up._

_She cracked her eyes open and smiled. "You're alive…"_

_"Yeah of course I am you idiot!" C.J. yelled at her. "We agreed that I was going to duel Drake not you!"_

_Sarina smirked and turned her head. "Seems that I've been making a lot of stupid mistakes lately huh…? At least I don't have any more regrets…"_

_"Please, don't die too…" C.J. Pleaded. "I already lost Tsume; I'm not losing you too!"_

_"Don't worry about me…" Sarina smiled. "I'll always be with you…"_

_She, with the last of her strength, reached into her pocket and handed him her Soul Phoenix card._

_"I'll always be there, to protect My Hero…" she closed her eyes as her arm slowly dropped to the ground, her dead hand letting go of Soul Phoenix._

_"SARINNNNAAAA!" C.J. cried out loudly as everyone was shocked at the unfathomable moment that they just witnessed._

* * *

><p>Sarina remembered that moment but shook her head. "I was nothing but a friend of his; nothing more, so don't worry about it."<p>

"But I can't stop worrying!" Jamie suddenly stated. "Because, I don't know if I like him… or rather his actions."

Sarina froze from hearing Jamie's words.

"I mean, C.J.'s like my little brother, and I'll always love him; but as for this boyfriend/girlfriend thing; I think I just said it without thinking…"

Sarina found herself speechless. This girl, who C.J. devoted his life to rescue from her brother, this girl, who he put his life on the line to save from an Armageddon scenario, this girl… that C.J., was in love with… just announced that she didn't feel the same way about him.

"Are you at least going to tell him how you feel?" Sarina asked.

"I don't know…" Jamie replied in a sorrowful tone. "The last thing I want is to break his heart but…"

"Either way you're going to break it." Sarina said bluntly. She turned and continued to walk.

"Just for the record; I was in love with him." Sarina admitted. "And it wasn't because of his actions."

Jamie looked up in surprise.

"C.J. is funny, loyal, dedicated, self-sacrificing…" Sarina counted his qualities. "And he's the only one out of everyone to give my brother a chance at redemption. So yeah, I guess you can say I really appreciated that from him. But the fact is, that I enjoyed being with him. I enjoy dueling with him, and fighting alongside him. Aside from my team, C.J. is the closest thing I have to family. The only reason why I let him go? Was because at the same time he was going after you with every fiber in his body; I admitted my feelings to him, easily knowing that they wouldn't be returned, no matter how much I wished; and now knowing that you don't actually like him like that, makes me feel like I gave up on him too early…" Sarina continued walking up the path, as Jamie sniffled, realizing that at some point she'd have to break C.J.'s heart, no matter how bad it would hurt the both of them.

* * *

><p>"There it is, we made it." Kachua pointed, smelling the smoke in the air. She coughed a little as it became a bit too much for her.<p>

Tsume managed to catch up to them, out of breath after traveling so many miles in the short time.

"OK, I'll admit, Old people are faster than we give them credit for." Tsume said.

"Got that right…" C.J. said clutching on to Balis Gale for dear life. "I thought I was gonna die."

"Grandpa, you can start heading down." Kachua tapped the old dragon.

Balis mumbled something about impatient youths again as he descended.

* * *

><p>As Jamie and Sarina continued upward, they saw Balis Gale's shadow overhead as they watched the Earth Dragon descend.<p>

"Old Man, Gale?" Sarina recognized. "What's he doing here?"

"It's C.J. and Tsume…" Jamie noticed, making Sarina look closer.

The Dragon hovered to where they were as C.J. and Kachua jumped off the dragon.

"Thanks Grandpa, we can take it from here." Kachua told it.

"OK, just be careful. Young people can be so reckless these days." Balis Gale reminded her.

Gale flew off as C.J. ran to hug Jamie.

"Thank god you're alright; I was afraid that you were dead…" C.J. told her, beyond relieved that she was safe.

C.J.'s words only made the guilt of telling him hurt her even more. She latched off of C.J. and walked away continuing up the mountain.

"Jamie?" C.J. called out, but Sarina grabbed his shoulder.

"She's been through a lot the last couple of days." Sarina covered up. "She needs a bit of space."

"But…" C.J. started to say, but Sarina gave him that 'Mother Hen' look, making C.J. realize that Sarina wants C.J. to stay as far away from Jamie until she was over whatever she was going through. "Ok, I get it. What are you guys doing anyway?"

"Trying to find Yamato's Armor; samurai armor passed down the Bolshack bloodline."

"What's it supposed to do? Make Blaze a bigger powerhouse than normal?"

"If it gives us a better edge on NOVA then, I don't see why not."

"I found it!" Jamie called out from up ahead. The group all raced up the mountain and came up to the cave at the top. It was lit up with a group of torches split across each side of the cave as a suit of armor sat, awaiting someone to put it on.

"Well Blaze…?" Jamie turned to her partner.

Blaze nodded and walked over to the armor. He put his claw on it and ignited it, the armor reacting as a result. Blaze growled as both pain and power entered into him. It hurt, but it was an energizing kind of pain. He felt both the Armor rejecting him as he's not the original user of the armor, but at the same time, he felt that he was inheriting the will of his fore father, who wore this armor with the sense of Justice that he himself strives to achieve every breathing second he uses. The armor suddenly began to clasp onto him bit by bit as his allies watched in amazement.

Once it was over, Bolshack Dragon had the appearance of a Samurai. His metallic wings became organic, having a brownish-black color to them and his arms and legs gained reddish-orange armor to them. He had two Katanas strapped to his back and he wielded a silver and red blade, in his right claw, which ignited a gold-colored flame.

"Holy… That's awesome!" C.J. exclaimed.

"Meet, Bolshack Yamato Dragon." Jamie said proudly. "Our new 'Ace' in our fight against NOVA…"

Blaze roared in agreement.

"_Really now… Pretty big words for someone like you…"_

Jamie froze as the voice lingered in the air. "It's her…" She spun around and saw Vanessa standing on her Gran Gure at the entrance of the cave with her arms crossed.

"How'd she know we were here?" Sarina asked.

"I followed the Balis Gale here." Vanessa admitted. "You should thank Your Boyfriend for leading me here. At least this time you'll die together…"

"I'll handle this; I took out one, so this should be no sweat." C.J. strapped his glove on as the Kaijudo Energy materialized in excitement. However before he can do anything, Jamie stood in front of him.

"Back off, she's mine."

"Is Blaze even in a condition to even duel? It looked like putting that armor on was more uncomfortable than he made it sound." C.J. protested.

"Just back off!" Jamie snapped. "My god, I don't need you to fight all of my battles for me, I can stand on my own two feet, thank you."

"Where did that come from?" C.J. asked surprised. "I only want to help you, isn't that what a boyfriend is supposed to do?"

"But you're not acting like my boyfriend; you're treating me like I'm your kid sister!" Jamie countered. "That probably explains why I don't see you as anything past a brother!"

And that's when Jamie realized what she said. She could see it in C.J.'s expression that his world suddenly shifted.

"C.J., I didn't mean it like that it's just…"

C.J. shook his head. "You're right. I have been treating you like my sister; Guess I was just fooling myself into believing, that if I could become a great duelist, and try to get someone like you to acknowledge me like the others… That I could be on your level, and actually have someone like you in my life; but what do I know? I'm just the newbie who's been winning all my matches off of flukes. Guess I've been only saving the world, for the feel of being a superhero, and not saving anyone else." C.J. chuckled. "But whatever; It's your fight. I apologize for getting in your way, Lady Amaterasu." C.J. Bowed.

"C.J. if you will just listen-

"Listen to what?" C.J. countered her. "That I've spent months trying to get you to like me just to live this stupid dream for three days and that's it? That I've wasted my time trying to save you from god-knows-what and then some? Man, do you realize how much of an idiot you're making me feel like-

Jamie suddenly balled up her fist and punched him as hard as she could. However before he could fall to the ground, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him back up eye-level.

"Listen to me! You are a great duelist, and of course I acknowledged you. You're one of the strongest duelists I've ever met; I honestly appreciated everything you've done for us, especially me. All I'm asking is to please… Let me be a hero for once. Let me repay you for everything you've done for us.

C.J. then felt Jamie's warmth around him as she hugged him tightly.

"And by the way; I'm glad that you're alive…" she lets go of C.J. and turns to Vanessa who in turn summons the K-Terminals from the ground under them.

C.J. nodded to her and moved back. "Good Luck."

Jamie smiled as the shields materialized. "As long as you're here, who needs luck?"

"Now that the soap operas over, it's time for me to crush you once and for all…" Vanessa said as she drew her hand.

"Bring it on…" Jamie replied, gaining her five cards

"DUEL START!" they called out in unison…

[END]


	13. Our Inheritance

Chapter 13: Our Inheritance

* * *

><p><em>[One month earlier…]<em>

* * *

><p>"What is this place?" C.J. asked his friends as they looked all around the broad, spacious area that they found themselves in. The quintet of teenagers looked around the grassy field, quickly realizing that they were somewhere other than the busy streets of NYC. Two minutes ago they were walking down towards the Bowling Green Train Station coming from the South Ferry Terminal, and then the next thing they know, they wake up in a valley with the bright scorching sun welcoming them.<p>

"Doesn't look anything like Battery Park;" Jake said as he looked around to see any signs of tourist with in a three-yard radius."

"Looks like the teleportation was a success..." A kid-like voice announced as Wyatt, Nikki and Adrian approached, with Adrian carrying Sarina's lifeless body in his arms, and Wyatt lugging a blue backpack that took up half his size

"Wyatt?" Dylan realized. "Nikki, Adrian?"

"What are you guys doing with my body?" Flare asked as she materialized out of C.J.'s case. The little fire bird took a look at her body and realized she literally transported herself next to the group, red feathers and all.

"We're in the creature world… aren't we?" The small Cocco Lupia asked them.

The five teen heads darted towards her as they couldn't believe what they just heard.

"Where did we end up?" Jamie asked.

"Welcome to the Kaijin no Sekai, Kaijudo Generation." Nikki confirmed. "I bet you're wondering why you're here."

"A simple explanation would be sufficed, definitely." Dylan replied.

"Well first thing's first…" Adrian set Sarina's body on the ground. "We need Soul Phoenix's power for this."

"Soul Phoenix's…" C.J. started to say.

"Power…?" Flare finished. "But where are you going to find an earth dragon for me to Vortex Evolve with?"

Wyatt dropped the backpack and pulled out a green-stripped white egg that he rested on the ground.

"This little guy;" Wyatt patted the egg. "He's just about ready to hatch and everything."

"An Earth Dragon egg…?" Flare recognized almost immediately. "Where'd you get this?"

"Where do you think?" Wyatt raised his eyebrow.

Flare thought about it and it clicked in her mind. "This is one of my eggs…"

"Bingo!" Wyatt said happily.

"You know… for being known as the Wise Starnoid… You're pretty stupid."

"And why is that?" Wyatt smirked.

"Because… No one takes a Lupia's egg and lives to tell about it!"

Flare suddenly dove towards the child-like avatar, getting ready to peck him to death.

Wyatt held his hand up to her as she stopped short.

"Any idea why I took it in the first place…?" He asked. He then pointed down as the group looked.

The egg started to shake as the top part of the shell cracked open. A tiny growl was heard as the tiny scrapes of the baby worked on chipping off more of the shell above it.

"It was getting ready to hatch." Wyatt explained. "Congrats, You're the proud mother to a newborn Regarion."

The newborn Terradragon looked up at the fire bird with big innocent dragon eyes as it yawned and fell forward, going right to sleep. Apparently prying out of an egg is more of a challenge then anyone considered. Nikki walked over and picked the baby up.

"So that's where baby creatures come from." Karon said impressed.

"Oh no, A Creatures reproductive cycle is no different from Earth Species." Nikki replied calmly, getting the teen's faces to turn, forcing them to not think of it.

"Now then; C.J., I trust you still have the Soul Phoenix Card, am I right?" Adrian asked.

C.J. pulled the card from his pocket. "I've kept it ever since the battle with Drake."

"Excellent. I want you to Vortex Evolve Flare and the Dragon into Soul Phoenix."

"You think I have enough strength for that, considering that we're not dueling and all?"

"Considering that the creatures are her physically, takes out a huge source of stress on your body. The only thing you need to focus on is evolving it.

"Ready whenever you are…" Flare turned to C.J.

"OK then…" C.J.'s hand began to spark up Red and Green Kaijudo Energy as the card was enveloped as well.

"Vortex Evolution: Regarion and Cocco Lupia into Soul Phoenix, Avatar of Unity!"

C.J. held the card up as Flare's body developed a Red aura and the Baby Dragon, a Green one. The two floated into the air as the two beams of light merged. After that, the wings of the Soul Phoenix sprouted and the full bird emerged, re-energized and ready to fight, as if it never was taken down in the first place.

"And now, to bring my Pain in the butt, Babysitter back to life." Wyatt snapped his fingers to alert the Phoenix.

Soul Phoenix descended down and reformed into the Red and Green Humanoid, whose body structure mimicked Sarina's.

"So that's what you guys really look like?" Jamie asked.

Nikki nodded. "On earth, we take on forms like these; but in the creature world, we tend to look like these Energy Beings, as it helps us move easier between here and our base of operations."

"At the same time, sliding into our human forms is a cinch, as they're pretty much suits."

Sarina placed her hand on the body's chest as the energy being broke down and was absorbed into the body. After the process was over, the once lifeless body opened her eyes, and moved a few fingers around to make sure the transfer was a success. She sat up but clutched her stomach in pain.

"Take it easy. Remember, that's still a newborn in there so you need to be careful."

The teen girl looked up and smiled. "Fifteen seconds in and he's already causing me trouble." She rubbed her flat stomach, as if she really was pregnant. She then forced her weak body up, as she dusted herself off.

"Well, that's over with." Wyatt noted. "Now then for the reason why we brought you guys here."

"We've been receiving reports of suspicious activity going on while we were on Earth dealing with Drake. As of now, the rumors have subsided." Adrian began.

"OK…" C.J. nodded.

"However, just to be on the safe side, we need your help, once again." Nikki added.

Wyatt reached into his pocket and pulled out Five Duel Masters Cards as he held them in front of KG.

"But wait, aren't those…?" Jake began to say.

"These are our treasures; The Catastrophe Gears. We need to get them as far away as possible from the Kaijin no Sekai; and to be honest, the most trustworthy people we know, come from Earth, an entirely separate dimension from here. And at the same time, a place where their power can't be abused; until these rumors or whatever's going on is finally dead, for sure, we need you five to keep guard over our Cross Gears." Wyatt requested. "So, how about it; I promise, nothing bad will happen, just need to babysit them for a little while…"

* * *

><p><em>[Present Time]<em>

* * *

><p>Jamie started the duel setting Fire mana and ending.<p>

Vanessa drew and set Light mana, tapping it.

"I summon La Ura Giga, Sky Guardian."

La Ura materialized behind her, having more than enough room to maneuver in the coliseum-sized cave that the group found themselves in.

Jamie drew and set water mana, surprising the others.

"I Summon Emeral; I set a card in my hand to my shields, and in return, I take one of my shields to my hand."

Emeral Materialized and swapped the shields for her.

"Jamie went back to water?" C.J. asked as Emeral returned back behind her.

"Sort of…" Sarina replied.

Vanessa drew and set Nature mana. "I cast faerie life and gain an extra mana. I end my turn." She flipped the card revealing Gran Gure.

Jamie drew and set Darkness Mana, tapping the trio of colors.

"I summon Smashblow Dragoon." Jamie said as the Brass Knuckled Tyranoid materialized begin her, hopping as if it were a boxer in training.

Vanessa drew and set mana. "I summon Pala Olesis, Morning Guardian."

Pala materialized along-side La Ura as the two blockers readied themselves for an incoming attack.

Jamie drew and set her fourth mana. "I Summon Aqua Super Emeral."

A Liquid People-like creature materialized, radiating Blue, Green, Yellow and Purple colors from it's body. Tentacle-like dreads waved back and forth as its hands glowed in contrasting auras from the data input and output of the tentacles connected. It walked over and swapped another one of Jamie's shields.

"Aqua Super Emeral…?" C.J. asked. "So long story short it's a Liquid People version of regular Emeral.

"Yeah, it costs one more, but it also has +1000 power and blocker." Sarina added.

"Smashblow Dragoon, Break her shields, ike!"

Smashblow cracked his neck and dashed towards Vanessa, with La Ura intercepting.

"Pala Olesis boosts my Creature's power by +2000 during your turn making Smashblow's attack ineffective.

"Or so you think." Jamie replied calmly.

"What?"

Smashblow was intercepted by La Ura, but his fist kept pushing its way into La Ura until it ultimately shattered. Smash used the blast to bounce back to Jamie.

"Whenever Smashblow battles a Blocker, he gains +4000 power. So in a battle between a 4000 powered blocker, and a 6000 powered Tyranoid…

"Not bad. Seems you've improved since out last confrontation…" Vanessa drew and set mana. "I summon Lukia Lex, Pinnacle Guardian."

A Green and yellow Guardian armed with a lower energy cannon flew in along-side Pala.

"I also cast Faerie life to add another mana." She flips it to reveal a Valiant Spark.

"And I summon another La Ura Giga." Vanessa set the last card in her hand as La Ura giga materialized.

"Three guardians…" Jamie counted, feeling a disturbing feeling in her mind. "That's not good."

"What's the matter?" Vanessa asked.

Jamie grunted and drew her next card. "I summon Luga Raiza, Battle Dragoon."

A Red, Silver and Blue dragon-like warrior materialized, wielding a lance-like weapon.

"Smashblow, Break her shields ike!"

Smashblow charged and broke a shield, Vanessa choosing not to block.

"And now we begin…" Vanessa flipped her card over. "Shield Trigger: Valiant Spark, I tap Aqua Super Emeral."

The shields shot towards the blocker like lightning bolts, paralyzing it.

Luga Raiza also felt the impact of the attack, and found himself disappearing back into Jamie's hand.

"What the…? Why did Luga Raiza return to Jamie's hand?" C.J. asked.

"When the opponent activates a spell card, Luga Raiza is forced back to the owner's hand."

"Emeral, break her shield!"

"La Ura Block." She tapped La Ura Giga as it was blocked easily.

"I end my turn…" Jamie snickered.

Vanessa drew her card and slid the trio of creatures together.

"Galaxy Vortex Evolution: Venus, the Shining Supernova, arise!"

Venus emerged from the trio of guardians as the Gold Phoenix stared down at the group.

"I'm screwed…" Jamie told herself.

"Venus, Attack Super Emeral."

Venus locked onto the paralyzed Liquid people and incinerated it with its lasers, leaving Smash blow feeling guilty of his ally's life.

"I end my turn." Vanessa passed the turn over.

Jamie drew her card and set it.

"I Generate Final Dragarmor, and Generate Evolve it into Explosion Catastrophe!"

The Dark evil Cross Gear materialized next to Smashblow, as its energy was strong, radiating off of it.

Jamie ended as Vanessa took her turn. She drew, dropped her card into mana and tapped Venus. "Triple Break!"

Venus charged and shot down three of Jamie shields as the duelist took cover, holding her ground. She smirked however.

"You fell for it." Jamie said as two of those shields regenerated.

"Shield Trigger: Betrayal Dragoon!"

A Black-colored Tyranoid materialized and smirked, at Venus.

"When this creature enters the battle zone, you have to choose one of your Nature or Light Creatures and destroy it."

"I chose Venus; But with her Meteorburn, she stays." Vanessa slid one of the cards from under it.

"Now then; my Other shield trigger!"

"She had two shield triggers?" Sarina noticed. "The Emerals!"

"Vortex Evolution: Smashblow Dragoon, Betrayal Dragoon, Vortex Evolve into Gauss, the Flame Comet!"

The two Tyranoids joined hands as they fused together to form a Red Armored Phoenix. This creature had wings that floated behind it in a cyan-blue aura while its lower torso resembled a Dragon head. In its hands it wielded two bladed weapons and from above it had hover over it a trigram-like pattern.

"Whoa, that's sick!" C.J. said out loud fascinated by the phoenix, which also made Jamie blush a little.

"I end my turn." Vanessa said, crossing her arms.

Jamie drew and set the mana.

"I summon Mirror-Force Dragon." Jamie said a sudden determination found in her voice.

The Volcano Dragon materialized and glowed, Gauss feeling a power boost from it.

"Mirror Force gives all my non-dragon creatures Power Attacker +4000, putting Gauss' power up to 15,000, making it more powerful than your phoenix.

"Gauss, Attack!"

Meteorburn!" Vanessa called out again, as the phoenixes scuffled without a winner.

"I end my turn…" Jamie said disappointed.

Vanessa smirked and drew. "As long as I can meteorburn, You're not taking down my phoenix. "Venus, Break her last shields…"

Venus then took out Jamie's last shields. "Shield Trigger: Aqua Surfer!"

Surfer materialized and attempted to send back Venus, to no avail, via. Meteorburn...

"Well played. So I'm guessing that Surfer was the card that you sent from the Emerals, and not those first two triggers…" Vanessa told her.

"Betrayal dragoon was a fluke, I'll admit. I was grateful when I got it because Gauss broke as well." Jamie explained. Surfer was the card I sent, because I knew I had to get you to use up Venus' meteorburn, again."

Vanessa snickered because she realized that she fell for Jamie's trap. "Sneaky little…"

Jamie smirked and drew her card. "Explosion Catastrophe, Cross onto Gauss."

Gauss received the Cross Gear with open arms as his weapons turned black.

"Gauss, Attack venus!"

Mirror Force boosted Gauss as Venus retiallated. However Gauss slashed the Phoenix to pieces as the third phoenix met its fate as well in a firey explosion.

"And let's not forget, the Venus in your Mana zone… when a creature crossed with this gear wins a battle, that Creature and any copies in your hand, Grave or mana zone are sent to the bottom of your deck."

The Phoenix in Vanessa's mana popped as it was forced to the bottom.

"No way…" she snarled.

"Mirror Force Dragon, Break her shield ike!"

The dragon locked on with its Gatling gun and wasted a second shield, not triggering.

"Aqua Surfer breaks another shield!" Jamie tapped it as Surfer took down another shield.

"Shield trigger: Natural Snare, Gauss to your mana zone."

The vines emerged and turned Gauss into three mana crystals, Jamie didn't mind.

"I end my turn."

Vanessa drew and cursed under her breath. "I summon Gran Gure, Space Guardian."

Gran Gure, materialized. A Blocker with 9000 power should be enough to keep Jamie in her place for the time being, Vanessa hoped.

Jamie drew her next card. "I cast Dark Flame Drive!"

Vanessa's eyes widened as her Blocker was blown to bits almost as soon as it materialized.

"How…?"

"And that's not all." Jamie tapped a sixth fire mana, causing Mirror Force's card to glow red.

"Over Drive: Fire!" Jamie announced.

"Over Drive?" C.J. asked. "What's that?"

"Over Drive is a special ability. When a card is used, the user can tap additional specified mana to use an additional ability of the card. A Card like Dark Flame Drive, destroys one untapped creature your opponent controls; naturally it costs five mana. If you use its over drive ability, and tap an additional fire mana…" Sarina explained.

"I'm able to give one of my creatures Double Breaker until the end of the turn. Mirror Force, Break her last two shields!"

Mirror force charged and slashed the two shields with his swords at the same time as they scattered.

"Shield Trigger: Valiant spark, tap Aqua Surfer."

The shields once again paralyzed the surfer in it's place.

"I end my turn…" Jamie said.

Vanessa drew her next card, both girls realizing that these next two turns would be their last.

"I just have one question…" Vanessa spoke.

"What is it?" Jamie replied.

"Why are you fighting for the Cross gears? Their existence is none of your concern to begin with. And yet your risking your lives because the Avatars are making you…"

Jamie took her motionless turn as a sign of not making a move. Jamie drew and tapped her six cards.

"It's simple…" Jamie replied. "Bolshack Yamato Dragon: Arise…"

Blaze rose up behind Jamie and roared.

"These cross gears were entrusted to us." Jamie replied. "We are the protectors of these artifacts; we're fighting to keep evil like you people away from them. They are our responsibility… Our inheritance!"

Blaze and her other creatures roared in agreement.

"Bolshack Yamato Dragon has speed attacker, Todomeda!" Jamie tapped her creature as Blaze drew his blade and dashed forward.

Vanessa awaited her demise at the hands of the dragon. She realized she failed, and that she might die; however, she could see that her targets weren't as weak as she gave them credit. And she respected that.

Blaze's blade crashed as Vanessa felt herself fly through the air and slowly descending afterward.

"_Sorry June, I couldn't keep my promise… Forgive me…"_

Vanessa then suddenly felt a strong tug against her right arm as she opened her eyes. She couldn't feel anything under her, but she looked up, seeing Jamie's tight grip around her forearm.

"What are you…?"

"Just because you're the enemy doesn't mean that I'm going to let you die like this!" Jamie shouted.

Vanessa realized what was happening. "You don't have to do this…" she said. "I failed my mission; I'm better off dead.

"That's no reason to die. So what if you failed your mission, just deal with it."

"What do you know; you have no idea how important this mission is for all of us!"

"Maybe I don't but I do know someone is out there worried sick about you right now."

Vanessa snickered. "Yeah, right. No Family, no siblings, those Nova Rejects are the last thing I'd consider any part of my family.

"Still, wouldn't they be devastated to learn that you died for a stupid reason as failing your mission? Those Nova members, whether you like it or not are your family!"

Vanessa heard her and suddenly thought about June and the others, along with Michael's words…

* * *

><p><em>"At any rate though…" Mike stopped for a second. "I'm happy that you're still alive, Marcus."<em>

_Marcus turned back, surprised that Mike of all people said that._

_"It wouldn't be as much fun without a rival. Besides, Despite our differences… We're still a family."_

* * *

><p>Vanessa turned to her and grabbed onto the rock as she forced herself up with Jamie's help.<p>

"Thank you…" Vanessa told her.

Jamie smirked, breathing heavily. "Don't mention it. It's a hero thing."

Vanessa stood up and turned to Jamie.

"Something wrong?" she asked her.

"My little sister…" Vanessa admitted. "She would be devastated if I died."

"I suggest you go find her to show that you're alright…" Jamie told her.

Vanessa smirked and summoned her Gran Gure, taking off afterward.

Jamie watched as she looked over her shoulder.

* * *

><p>"<em>Well played, my Princess…"<em>

Jamie felt a cold shiver down her spine as she got the glimpse of Drake before her.

Drake walked and sat next to her.

"You did very well. I'm proud." He said.

Jamie felt startled, oddly not feeling any deadly intent from him.

"Out of all the people to inherit my Gear; I'm glad it was you." He smiled. "My sister made a wise decision to give it to you."

"How…"

Drake smirked and stood up. "Nice to see you again…"

* * *

><p>"Jamie!" C.J. called out as he, Sarina and Kachua ran up to her while Tsume and Blaze floated around them.<p>

"You OK?" Sarina asked as Jamie looked a bit pale.

"Wasn't Drake standing here?" She nearly panicked.

C.J. shook his head. "Maybe you were just day dreaming."

"Could be a side-effect of the gear;" Sarina added.

Jamie shook it off and nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Well then, now what? Tsume finally spoke up.

"We gotta find the others." C.J. noted. "I suggest we head to the Light Civilization, We can find Jake there and then try to find Dylan and Karon afterward.

"Sounds good." Sarina replied.

Jamie nodded, still unsure of what she saw. C.J. held his hand out.

"Ready to go?" C.J. asked.

Jamie looked up and got up herself. "Sorry C.J."

"For what…?"

"For what I said earlier…" She added.

"Don't worry about it." C.J. smirked.

"You're not mad…?"

"Well…"

"He's heartbroken." Tsume confirmed.

"Shut up!" Sarina threw a rock at him, beamed at his head.

"Maybe a little… But that doesn't mean its forever, right?" C.J. asked her.

Jamie impulsively hugged him. "Of course not." She cried a bit and hugged him tighter. "Just a little while longer… when we're both sure of it…

C.J. smiled and returned the hug. "Definitely…"

[END]


	14. The Sleeping Giant

Chapter 14: The Sleeping Giant

"That's three of my Supernovas destroyed…" Ryuusei counted as he watched the outcomes of the three duels in which C.J., Dylan and Jamie managed to defeat Mars, Mercury and Venus respectively. He sighed and moved the holographic screen aside as he flipped another one up out of thin air showing the lone Tsunami Catastrophe gear, and the four empty spaces accompanying it. As irritated as he was, he remained calm. All this was telling him was that these Duelists were more of a nuisance than he gave them credit for.

"I wonder if I should call "Them" in…" Ryuusei pondered, rubbing his chin. He smirked and closed the current screen and opened another, pulling his hands apart and expanding it. On the screen he saw golden skyscrapers and small airships flying to and fro, along with various energy beings doing the same.

"If anything this should reveal where the last Gear is hiding…" he turned to one of the officers standing next to him.

"Tell June to lead a troop to raid Central City up ahead. It's 32,000 ft above the heart of the Nature Civilization; The Grand Cross Catastrophe should be somewhere around there. I want her to retrieve it, and if anything should happen: Let the 'Sleeping Giant' rage out…"

The colonel hesitated to reply to that. "Are you sure that Jupiter should be unleashed?"

"Apparently you don't see how serious of a situation we are in right now Colonel. I _want_ those gears… And if you refuse..."

The colonel backed up a bit, afraid of him finishing that sentence.

"There's a group of Chimera who are starving down in the gallows; and it seems that Dreammates aren't cutting it for their diet…"

"Yes sir, say no more!" the colonel scurried along, his tail between his legs as he ran to tell June what Ryuusei told him.

Once the officer left the room, Ryuusei turned his attention back to the screen in front of him. "Always save the best for last…"

* * *

><p>Jake stared at his two Cross Gears: King's Blade and Queen's Shield; the Nature and Light Cross gear combination that powered Tenshi enough to evolve into the creature he was currently sitting upon…<p>

* * *

><p><em>"I only have one shot." Jake drew two cards, a Nature Cross gear, and a Light Cross gear from his deck case.<em>

_"Are you insane, if you use those, it'll drain you completely. Karon told him._

_"It's either me or the world." Jake shot back. "If we don't get those cards the world will be destroyed. At least if I do this we'll have a chance."_

_"You're an idiot!" Karon shouted._

_Jake smirked. "Typical for my rival to worry about me…" Jake crossed his arms and revealed the cards._

_"GENERATE: KING'S BLADE; QUEEN'S SHIELD: CROSS!"_

_The smoke cleared, showing Jake holding Alphadios' card in his hand and Alcadeias behind him, his arms covered in a golden shield like object, along with six Green Blades extending from his back._

_"Alcadeias… Evolve into Alphadios… SHINING EMPEROR!"_

_Jake threw his arm into the air, the Card not losing its radiant glow. A large beam shot from the sky as it engulfed the armored Alcadeias. The Green Blades turn Gold colored as the armor of the blades reformed into arms that gained golden armor on them as well, black hands grasping onto them. Alcadeias' body grew twice in size, including his wings. His body lost most of the sapphire color and was replaced by brownish royalty clothing such as the sash around its neck. His helmet also extended horns, making it resemble more of a crown._

* * *

><p>"Jake?" The Alphadios said, trying to attain the attention of his human partner.<p>

"Yeah?" Jake replied, still lost in the cards in his hand.

"You're daydreaming again…" He said in a slightly disturbed tone.

"Oh sorry about that…" Jake replied. "I'm just thinking about something.

"Are you thinking about the others?" After all it's been almost four days since you've found yourself here. Are you worried?"

"Me? No, I'm not worried. Dylan's a techie so he can survive granted a Video Game's in his face. I know Jamie and C.J. are together, since they'd go through great lengths to make sure they meet up, and Karon's Karon; can't say I'm worried about them, Per se."

"Then what are you worried about? It's not like you to be quiet for this long period of time unless you were in deep thought." Tenshi noted as the duo continued to float among the clouds.

"I was wondering how many of those Supernova guys we're gonna come in contact with…" Jake replied. "I mean, We've already seen what damage two of them can do; and if I remember right from the sets that they were in, there's more than five of them. It's one thing to see them as cards; but to actually face them in real life… that's insane."

Tenshi nodded. "I understand what you might be going through. I wouldn't worry however; the Councilmen of Central City have the most elite defense system in the Kaijin no Sekai's history.

"The Invincible Aura, right?"

Tenshi nodded. "After Neo Cannon Skyterror destroyed most of the ancient Light Civilization, the legendary White Knights, along with the Shining Command created the 'Invincible Aura' Defense system. In case of an emergency, this defense mechanism will trigger not letting anyone in or out. Despite the Fire Civilization creating the 'Invincible Cataclysm' weapon, the peace found between the Light and Fire has caused them to abandon it unless needed."

"So even if NOVA were to attack…"

"There's no way to penetrate the Aura. It's that strong." Tenshi nodded.

Jake sighed in relief. "At least the Cross Gear is Safe then…" Jake suddenly heard a loud Jet engine over head as he then realized how dark it gotten so instantly. He and Tenshi looked up and saw the Black Airship fly overhead.

"It's NOVA!" Jake realized. "You don't think…"

Tenshi shook his head. "As I said, the Invincible Aura is impregnable. They have no chance to break its defense."

* * *

><p>Ryuusei smirked as he walked across the balcony where he found roughly 100 soldiers strapped with Sky Jet Cross gears on their backs and various weapons on their persons, as well as half of that group made up of Fire and darkness creatures, also armed with Gears.<p>

June stood at the front of the group, her arms clad with Emerald Claws as her jade-colored hair lock drooped in her face. It was easily definable in her expression that she was against this and she wished someone would talk her out of it. Problem was, she didn't know what she was more afraid of; Ending up like her three teammates; or Jupiter's tendency to rampage through everything. Only being Fourteen years old, she was the youngest of the five. She found herself attached to Vanessa as an older sister, and she had a small crush on Peyton, despite their age differences, so he was close to him as well. She wished one of them would trade places with her at that moment. She stared at the door way, wishing one of them would come in to notice her and to offer to switch sides.

"Attention Troops!" Ryuusei announced, thus crushing June's chances of leaving. "With this mission we will be one step closer to breaking the seal of the great Thanatos! With that said, I expect you to follow Lieutenant Jhang's every order; which also means…" he then turned his attention to June. "I expect flawless results from you…"

June looked up, and despite not seeing his eyes, she felt the coldness in his words, and that was enough to force a nod out of her.

Ryuusei grew a pleasant smile and turned to his officer. "Unlock the hatch."

"Yes sir!" the officer saluted as he pulled the lever which made the gears move accordingly.

The warning signs to "Stay Clear" were made as a precaution as the soldiers turned and looked at the various Guardians surrounding Central City. The Invincible Aura System was activated as well, the giant navy blue energy shields deploying and encircling the city.

"Launch on my mark…" Ryuusei held his hand in the air. He counted down, pulling each finger back.

Hearts were racing; pulses were speeding, millions of thoughts started to flood the minds of the soldiers of what they'd be facing down there.

"LAUNCH!" Ryuusei ordered at the top of his lungs as the warriors all skydived towards the shielded city.

* * *

><p>Jake and Tenshi watched them all go head first, the first twenty or so instantly bouncing off, despite attempting to break through.<p>

"Wow… when you said impregnable, you weren't kidding…"

"They're armed with Sky jets; that's not good. Tenshi observed. "They're gonna keep going until they get through…"

"But you said it yourself, that defense is impossible to break."

"There's a flaw in the designs of it." Tenshi said.

"A flaw…? But you just said-

"I know what I said!" Tenshi snapped. "I designed it! We need to get down there before they can find the flaw."

Alphadios flapped its wings hard and fast as the zoomed forward.

"What kind of flaw is it?" Jake asked.

"Basically, I designed it like a Diamond." He said. "Since the shield is impregnable, I needed to make a way for allies to pass through it; I made a small weak spot, no bigger than 60 meters; the Actual range of the Defense system is over 2,000 meters, enough to cover the city completely all around.

"So like a diamond, it has one hidden soft spot that if discovered…"

"Can shatter the entire thing like a glass..."

And that's when Tenshi saw his worse fear come true.

The Aura System exploded in various places and began to crumble, the energy shields deactivating and dropping from the sky. The remaining Soldiers landed safely amongst the platforms and rooftops of the buildings as various Viziers zoomed up to greet the unwelcomed guest.

* * *

><p>The armies of NOVA and Light clashed as Ryuusei watched from his throne room pleased with what he was seeing. The Great Invincible Aura was a sheer memory and within minutes, Central City would be his.<p>

Vanessa walked into the room to greet her master as she bowed lowly to him.

"I have returned Master Ryuusei." Vanessa told him.

Ryuusei peeked over slightly and a smirk grew on his face. "Nice to see you've returned."

"I deeply apologize that Venus was destroyed… and also that I couldn't retrieve the gear."

"No need to worry dear…" he replied. "Within moments we will have secured one of the Gears.

"Pardon?" Vanessa asked. She looked at the screen, and then her eyes widened when she saw June beating her way through the armies of Sanfist and Frei that intercepted her.

"What is she doing out there?" Vanessa panicked. "It's too dangerous for her to be out there on her own!"

"Don't worry." Ryuusei replied in a calm manner. She has orders to unleash Jupiter if things get… 'Out of hand'…"

"If Jupiter is summoned, all hell will break lose!" Vanessa snapped. "She's going to get herself killed out there! I can't believe you'd do that to her!"

"ENOUGH!" Ryuusei made Vanessa shut up instantaneously. "You have no right to use that tone of voice on me, not as you commanding officer, nor as your father; Disappear from my sight…" he snarled. "Bad enough that you came back alive…"

Vanessa stared him down as she stormed off from the room.

Ryuusei turned up towards the balcony where the members normally stay at, seeing Peyton with a not so thrilled look either.

"I'd suggest you do the same."

Peyton didn't reply but turned and left the room as well.

* * *

><p>Jake and Tenshi arrived and Jake got off ready to join the fight and help out. He drew the Glorious heaven's arm gear from his deck as his glove sparked.<p>

"Cross over!" he called out as his arm was covered in the armor. The sword appeared in his hand as he and Alphadios readied themselves to face this army.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Tenshi asked.

"I've sat on the sidelines, guiding C.J. through all of his trials. It'll be fun to see what being the Hero's like for once; let's go!" Jake replied as the duo charged forward.

Jake and Alphadios made quick work of the oncoming soldiers, Jake slashing through them all as Tenshi blasted the various Tyranoids and Swamp people that sprouted from the air. It all seemed too easy. Meanwhile June was knocking out the Initiates left and right, through her various skills in fighting. From what it seemed, it was as if both sides were having no trouble facing their adversaries. It was then there and then that Jake and Tenshi came face to face with the NOVA agent.

Jake and June noticed what the other did to their allies; they were even more surprised at the coincidence of meeting each other like this. The tension between the began to build as the two stared each other down.

"You should know why I'm here…" June finally spoke.

"You want the Gear… Right?"

She nodded and put her hand out.

Jake shook his head. "No chance."

June retracted her hand and sighed. "OK fine then; we'll do this the hard way." She drew a card from her deck and it sparked up Green and White Lightning.

"I summon Royal Durian…" She said as the creature materialized next to her.

A Durian-based creature materialized, dressed up in a king-like outfit. It grumbled a bit and looked up at Tenshi.

"Do it." June snapped her fingers.

Royal Durian raised is staff up high and suddenly Tenshi felt a sharp pain throughout his body.

Jake turned to his companion, realizing something wasn't right.

"Tenshi what's wrong?"

"That Durian… It's draining the power from my Evo crystal!"

The durian creature chuckled evilly as Alphadios reverted back into Alcadeias, both the King's Blade and the Queen's shield Cross Gears flying from his body.

Jake managed to secure the King's Blade gear; however he looked up and saw the Queen's Shield Gear float towards June.

"Not what I had in mind… but this can work." June said.

"Give that back…" Jake said.

June smirked. "No chance." She replied, mocking Jake. "Cross Over!"

The Queen's Shield gear resonated in her hand as the Five gold shields materialized and rotated around her person.

"Guess I'll have to get it back by force… Cross Over!"

The King's Blade Gear did likewise to Jake, surrounding himself with Five Green Swords.

The two of them continued to stare each other down before they dove headfirst into each other.

* * *

><p>"Did you hear that?" Dylan asked Karon as the two were on their respected Avatars riding towards the light civilization.<p>

Lancer looked up and saw the grey clouds forming high in the sky. "It wasn't going to rain today was it?"

Kage shook his head. "That's not clouds; that's smoke from a fire.

"NOVA must've attacked the Light Civilization looking for the Grand Cross Catastrophe Gear." Karon noted. "Jake must be holding his own up there."

"Let's keep moving then." Dylan nodded.

* * *

><p>Jake continues his assault, attempting to break through June's defensive shield, but the Queen's Shield protected her from damage as she attempted to strike Jake past his Six blades.<p>

June ducked a swipe and came back for an uppercut once she saw that slight opening, but Jake blocked it and slashed her. Finally making a successful hit, June hit the ground.

* * *

><p>"<em>You can't resist me forever!"<em>

* * *

><p>June heard the evil voice in her head that made her hesitate to get up.<p>

"Stay away from me…" She whispered to herself.

"Hey, watch where you're fighting!" Jake slid and made a horizontal slash, but June grabbed the blade and snapped the Heaven's Arm Blade in half, leaving Jake with the five King Blades left.

"I'm paying attention…"

* * *

><p>"<em>Summon me… You can't do this without me…"<em>

* * *

><p>June's eyes widened as she knelt down and clutched her head. "Damn it, just shut up already!"<p>

"Is she alright…?" Jake wondered. He then saw the floor under them spark up.

"_You need my strength, you know you can't win without me!"_

"Leave me alone!" June screamed.

Her hand sparked up violently as her Kaijudo Energy manifested into a Giant Green and Red beast. The Phoenix resembled a King, a muscular humanoid with a golden headdress, while on the bottom of his person, resembled a Tiger Head with Insect-like legs. His Shoulder blades had small red-winged tips that showed off the beauty of this creature.

Its crimson red eyes stared down Jake and Alcadeias, with murderous purpose as June's exhausted body laid under it.

"Now then… Let's finish this, shall we?" The Phoenix spoke up.

Jake stood in awe at that sight. "The Phoenix… can talk?"

Jupiter laughed evilly as it's Tiger mouth charged energy from its Evo Crystals.

"Die…" Jupiter told him.

As Jake was about to brace for impact, the ground under him began to crack. Jake realized that the fighting and the extra weight brought by the creatures weakened the floor under them.

"That's not good… Tenshi, we gotta move like now!"

I… Can't." He replied, paralyzed by the Durian.

"Are you kidding me?" Jake looked down and saw it break further.

"Crap!" he looked over and saw Jupiter continuing to charge its energy.

* * *

><p>Ryuusei smiled, enjoying the sight of Jupiter beginning his rampage.<p>

"Go, Jupiter; destroy everything!"

* * *

><p>Jupiter fired the blast, which in turn was the last bit of force that broke the floor under them.<p>

Jake who had very little time to think jumped from the platform and fell forward, the Phoenix roaring in anger losing its target; with Tenshi still weak from Durian's draining, Jake had to think of something to save himself. And then it occurred to him; the simple solution to his problems...

* * *

><p>June cracked her eyes open, feeling her sore body ache as she sat up, hearing the cackling of the flame near her. The Stars illuminating the night sky. It wasn't what she expected after she passed out. Just… what happened?<p>

"_Glad to see you're awake…"_

June jumped from the voice of the stranger as she realized who it was.

"It's you…"

Jake nodded. "Are you feeling alright?"

"What did you do to me?" She stood up. Her sore body however forced her back down.

"Relax you!" Jake scolded. "We fell from 32,000 ft., you can't expect to feel in tip-top shape.

"How are we alive if we fell from so high?"

"Grand Cross Catastrophe..." Jake held it in his hand. "I used it to save myself, but without me knowing, it captured you too in its barrier. It protected us as we fell down here. Once we were safe, I made camp and took care of your wounds."

"Do you expect a thank you…?" June scoffed.

"Cut the tough girl act already." Jake said, seeing through it.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't seem like the others." Jake said bluntly. "You're too much of a kid to be evil."

"Too much of a kid…?" June repeated, annoyed by that statement.

"Do you mind telling me what happened to you up there?"

"What do you mean…?"

"I mean what's up with that Supernova of yours? Out of the ones I've seen so far, that's the only one I've seen that had a mind of its own."

June dug her face into her lap and looked back at Jake. "They call him the 'Sleeping Giant'. Jupiter, the Savage Supernova has a tendency to go berserk if he's summoned, or if his duelist is under pressure.

"So that's what was going on. He was trying to get you to summon him…"

June nodded. "But then I learned the reasons why he goes berserk. And that's because… It's not Jupiter at all."

That statement took Jake by surprise. "Not Jupiter…?"

She shook her head. "It's another creature entirely; if it could be even called a creature.

Now Jake started to feel concerned at this point. He unintentionally saves this girl, and now he's found himself in a situation where she's waging her own war against her Deck Avatar. Just what is this girl hiding? His conscious is going to bug him about it later, but…

"Do you mind telling me how you all got involved with the Supernovas in the first place?"

June looked at him and Jake saw something in her eyes, as if she can put her trust in him and that he would believe what she had to say. She took a deep breath, and began her story…

[END]


	15. ARC Part 1

Chapter 15: ARC Part 1

* * *

><p><em>[Children's Home Society: Toms River, New Jersey, 2006]<em>

* * *

><p>"Hello; my name is Justin…" the young voice of a nervous ten year old spoke up.<p>

* * *

><p>"Justin, where'd you go?" the cheerful voice of a young girl, no older than five years of age asked loudly as she skipped along the rooms trying to find the older child. It was time for their annual game of hide and seek and this little one loved playing with her best friend Justin.<p>

Skipping along in her bright green dress, She checked each room, from his bedroom possibly hiding under his bed to the bathroom, even the laundry room, thinking he was taking a bath with the clothes; but little Juniper couldn't find young Justin anywhere.

"Now where could he possibly be?" she wondered, scratching her chin like the adults would do when they're stumped. "What do you think Ms. Ringo?" Juniper asked her green colored Apple plushie. The jade colored bright-eyed apple stared at her with a big smile, being silent.

"_Maybe he's downstairs playing video games with the bigger kids?"_ Juniper said, changing her voice to make the apple doll talk.

"But he supposed to know that it's Hide and Go seek time, not Video game time, that comes after tea time and story time. Well then, when I see him I'll get him to play with me."

She skipped down the hallway and down the stairs humming. Once she got down the stairs she heard her friend's voice.

"Aha! Now I gotcha…!" She excitedly ran to the living room, anticipating her friend hiding in the room.

"Is he hiding behind the couch? Under the fort that we made yesterday?" she eagerly thought. "You can run, but you can't hide JUSTIN!"

Juniper made it into the room and stopped, seeing the Director of the orphanage and Justin, sitting across a young couple who were signing the adoption papers. Justin couldn't help but grow a smile on his face at the last scripted letter written on the documents.

After both the Father and the older Woman signed the paper, Justin smiled at his new Mom and Dad.

Juniper's wide-eyed expression made her tiny little heart shatter into a million pieces. The day she dreaded: Justin getting adopted. Her best friend in the entire world, was leaving her there before her eyes. And there wasn't anything that she could do about it. She dropped Ms. Ringo and cried and screamed her way upstairs back to her room. Justin turned around and heard her. He felt the guilt inside of leaving Juniper without telling her; but this was the only way for him to finally have a family of his own.

"Um… Mom, Dad…? Would it be OK if you guys could adopt a friend of mine?"

The young couple looked at each other, getting the idea of what he was getting at.

"Oh sweetheart…" the young woman knelt. "I'm so sorry; but our apartment's only big enough for three people at the moment. And… we don't have the capabilities of taking care of two children right now…"

And Justin's only shot of taking Juniper with him was shot down in flames.

"I promise, I'll come and visit here every day, just so Juniper won't feel alone while I'm gone." Justin told the director.

The White haired thin woman shook her head in sadness. "I'm afraid that that won't be possible. Not unless you plan on coming here from Chicago every single day."

"Chicago? That's too far! I won't be able to see Juniper like that!" Justin shouted in disbelief, continuing to break the hearts of the three adults.

"Write to her." The director told him. I'll make sure that she gets every letter you send her. And I'll help her write you back. As long as you keep doing that, you two will never be apart."

Justin realized that it was a lost cause to continue so he just left it alone.

* * *

><p>Later on with his bag packed, he stood at the front door with his new parents, eager to start their new life with their new son. At the same time, Justin looked back, realizing that he was leaving most of his young life here. He turned as the three said their goodbyes and walked out.<p>

Juniper watched from the window upstairs as Justin got into the rental car. He looked up, seeing the teary eyes of the little girl. He turned his head to keep from crying himself as the car pulled off…

* * *

><p><em>[Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"I've been an orphan all of my life." June started. "Both of my parents were killed in a car accident before I was barely six months old, and my family lived in South Korea at the time. I was put into the Orphanage where I grew up. I found myself attached to a boy named Justin. He was the same as I was; Parents were killed, no family to take him in. I didn't know what a Mom and Dad felt like but if anything, he was both. He took care of me, played with me, and kept the bullies from picking on me. As long as I had him around, I'd be safe. But then he got adopted and left me there."<p>

Jake nodded. "I can understand what he's going through. It's not easy moving away from people you care about."

"Every day for the next three years, I waited for his letters to show up. When I didn't get them, I felt that he really did forget about me and moved on. I became a loner, not wanting to be with anyone except Justin. The only thing that kept me calm and give me hope, was Ms. Ringo, a stuffed Apple doll that Justin won at a carnival we went to. But then when I lost it one day, it surprised me how my life would change for the better.

* * *

><p><em>[Toms River, New Jersey, 2009]<em>

* * *

><p>"Ms. Ringo?" the eight year old June looked under her bed. "Are you down here?" she grunted and stood up, dusting off her jeans.<p>

"Where is she?" she pondered. "I left her on my bed this morning. She couldn't have just walked off."

June ran down the hallways, looking for the doll; the more places she looked, the more she got worried. That doll meant the world to her, and the thought of losing something precious as that was unimaginable.

She ran out of places to look as her worst fears were starting to rise up.

"Where is she…?" June began to cry.

"Hey look at this cute doll I found!" a voice called out up ahead.

June's ears picked up on that instantaneously as she shook off her sadness and ran as fast as she could to the source of the voice.

She reached the room and noticed the open window. She looked out and saw her precious doll being thrown about like a football. Black dirt covering it, the thin white arms and legs torn slightly; June's world just came crashing down as her beloved doll was treated as trash.

June instinctively ran outside to the courtyard to attempt to get her doll back.

"Ms. Ringo!" She screamed in tears as she ran up to the older kids.

Once they noticed, they laughed, continuing to treat the doll badly.

"Give it back! She's mine!"

"Sorry kid, it's ours now." The Older boy said.

"No it's not, it's mine! Give it back!" June jumped on his arm to reach for the doll, but the older kid shook her off as she fell onto the concrete.

"Leave us alone. We found it in the trashcan and as of now, it's our new football; so get lost you brat. Dude, go long."

The second boy nodded and went across the courtyard as the boy chucked the doll into the air.

June watched in horror as her doll soared in the air, crying at the sight of it.

Just as the other boy was about to catch it, someone stepped in front of him and snatched it out of the air.

"Intercepted." The kid smirked.

"Hey what are you doing? That's our ball!" the kid snapped.

The dark-skinned kid turned with an annoyed look on his face. "This is a stuffed doll you idiot, not a football."

"What did you call me?" the kid snapped again.

"Hard of hearing…?" A girl's voice asked walking up next to June. "He called you an idiot."

June looked up and saw a dirty blonde haired girl with a yellow shirt and jeans. She walked over and took the doll from the boy as she came back and helped June on her feet.

"Come on, we'll get Ms. Rango fixed up right away."

Through the sniffles, June shook her head. "Her name is Ringo, not Rango."

The girl laughed, admiring June's cute personality. "Oh I'm sorry. Well let's get Ms. _Ringo_ a proper tidy up. She needs a bath. Maybe two considering these two dirt bags had their greasy little hands on her."

That comment made June crack a smile on her face. She nodded in agreement as the two walked.

"I'm Vanessa by the way. What's your name?"

"Juniper..."

"Mind if I call you June? It's easier to remember."

"OK." June smiled. She liked the warmness that she felt from Vanessa and she accepted it with opens arms.

"Are you coming Peyton?" Vanessa turned.

Peyton looked at the two pissed kids in front of him ready to beat him up for stealing from them.

"You two aren't worth the trouble." Peyton scoffed as he began to walk.

One of the two didn't like that and they responded by smacking him upside his head.

Peyton stopped and sighed. "I'll be inside in a second." He turned and decked the kid who slapped him. "I'll get in trouble for this, but all things considered, it'll be worth it."

The other kids swarmed the center of the action wanting to see Peyton go up against the two bullies…

* * *

><p><em>[Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"And that's how I stopped being alone." June said with a smile on her face. Peyton and Vanessa came to my rescue and began to look after me from then on. Along with Marcus and Mike, the four of them were each involved in Foster care but were taken out for one reason or another. Vanessa and Peyton were step-siblings from the beginning so they adopted me into their family, and as for Marcus and Mike, they just found it fun that they were polar opposites of each other and always tried to find an excuse to fight. Due to that, Peyton's temper was forced to the side and he grew more caring in the process. With the four of them, I slowly began to forget about Justin; the hate that I had towards him leaving me alone, and not returning my letters slowly vanished from my heart. I slowly began to forgive him as I understood right there and then: We had new families that were taking care of us now. And so, after two years, we were adopted…<p>

* * *

><p><em>[Toms River, New Jersey, 2011]<em>

* * *

><p>"Hello you guys." The smile of the mid-thirties Japanese man said as he stared at his new Step-children. "My name is Gentaro Kurosaki. It's a pleasure to meet you five."<p>

"Likewise…" Marcus slightly nodded. "So you're our new Stepdad?"

Gentaro nodded. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh no, not at all;" Vanessa stepped in. "Just… why all five of us?"

"Oh well that's quite simple." Gentaro replied. "I always wanted a big family. My wife died a few years ago due to cancer, and so I've felt a bit depressed lately. We had a dream of having lots of kids, but before we could get started on that plan, she was diagnosed. All of our time and energy was directed to her illness; but despite it all, she passed away. During that time however, she did mention adoption; and well, since that was in our list of things to do, I figured, 'What the heck?' I mean, being rich and not having anyone to share it with…"

"Wait hold on a sec! You're rich?" Marcus suddenly lit up.

Gentaro was taken aback by the outburst but slowly nodded. "I am actually… I'm a former astronaut for JAXA; at the moment I'm one of the leading scientists there.

"Well I'm starting to like this guy already." Mike said, closing his book. "Wealth, space, and the five of us together; I say go for it."

"Can't argue with that logic…" Peyton agreed.

"What do you think June?" Vanessa turned.

June looked up and smiled. "Definitely;"

"And Marcus…?" Vanessa turned. "Where'd he go?"

They heard someone running down the stairs finding Marcus with his red backpack.

"Hurry up and pack, our flight leaves soon." Marcus told the four of them.

"Oh don't worry about that. I made all the arrangements; we'll go on one of my private jets first thing in the morning." Gentaro smiled.

Marcus' face just then beamed with excitement. "Dad of the YEAR!"

"So um…" Gentaro scratched his head. He couldn't get over the 'Dad of the year' comment just yet. "I brought you guys something." He reached into his bag and took out five plastic deck cases.

"What're these?" Peyton asked.

"They're Duel Master cards." He replied happily. "It's a really popular trading card game back in Japan."

"Which just so happened to be steamrolled by Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, and MTG here in the United States." Mike added.

"And why are you giving us decks?" June asked, opening her green case and seeing the top card glimmer in the light.

"Because I personally find this game very enjoyable and I think you guys will too once we get home."

"But that means that we'll have to learn Japanese right?" Vanessa asked.

"_Shinpai shinaide_. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes no sweat." Mike said.

"What did you just say?" Marcus turned.

"Shinpai shinaide; don't worry, you dolt."

"Why you…!" Peyton held back Marcus from strangling Mike while the ladder laughed at Marcus' reaction.

Gentaro smiled. "I'm going to like you guys a lot."

June looked at the man and smiled in agreement.

* * *

><p><em>[Present Time]<em>

* * *

><p>"We learned the game afterward and kept alongside with Japan's metagame; Once the DCA took over, we registered and began to take part in tournaments and we've moved up to our A-Ranks in three years. We were known as Japan's '<em>Go Nagareboshi'<em> or The 'Five Shooting Stars.' Duelists who were famous in our own right; however our father wanted us to retire from our Dueling careers, wanting us to focus more on our studies; and something else."

"And the something else has something to do with NOVA, doesn't it?" Jake assumed.

"It was kept a secret, but our Father revealed the Kaijin no Sekai to us; A world that would be just ours. A world where we would always be together, where we could live without favorite creatures, and just never be separated. Just the six of us; as a family… And by studies, I mean Kaijudo Art studying."

"So he made you five study Kaijudo Art to summon your Supernovas right?"

June nodded. "At the moment, 3 of the planets in the Milky Way Galaxy have awakened: Mercury, Venus, and Mars."

"Not Jupiter?" Jake raised an eyebrow. "The supernovas should awaken their respected planets if they are summoned right?"

"If they're summoned on Earth…? Yes. Neither Pluto nor Jupiter has touched the surface of the planet earth. The closest they've been, were holograms in a K-terminal."

Jake thought about it and then it came to mind that the solar system that they're in doesn't necessarily mimic Earth's.

"Does your leader know about that?" Jake asked. "We were told that if all the Supernovas awaken, then the planet's alignment will break Thanatos' seal and unleash him."

"That's impossible if Thanatos is in the Kaijin no Sekai's core." June replied.

Jake realized that fact. "But if that's the case… Then wouldn't the summoning of the Supernovas break Ixion's seal instead?"

"That wouldn't help us, obviously." June noted. "That's why we began going after the five catastrophe gears."

"Because they're like keys right…?" Jake stated.

"Keys to a Cage essentially; at the time being, we only have 1: Tsunami Catastrophe; at the same time, Three of our Supernovas were destroyed, leaving Pluto and Jupiter remaining. You guys are obvious leading in the race."

"You sound so calm about that…" Jake noticed.

"Well it's like you said; I'm only a kid. A fourteen year old girl doesn't need to be in a war; as long as I'm with my family I don't care who comes out on top."

"I see…"

"And my Supernova, Jupiter, he feels the same way." June mentioned with a smirk on her face.

Jupiter materialized from her deck case with a big grin on his face, sort of like a "Gentle Giant."

"See? This is him when he's normal."

"I apologize if I caused you any trouble." Jupiter bowed.

"And like earlier, he can talk." Tenshi said as he materialized as Alcadeias from Jake's case.

"It's not actually him talking, it's his thoughts." June revealed. She turned around and lifted her hair up, revealing a small black object on her neck.

"All five of us had these small devices implanted onto us. They're neuro- linkers amplified by our Kaijudo Energy; they allow us to hear our Avatar's and allows them to speak through the device via Translator. Since these creatures were sealed, they never were able to adapt to the languages of the creatures of the world as we know, and speak an ancient language only known to them, Ixion and Thanatos.

"So that's why you were talking to yourself earlier. That thing from before was talking to you through the linker wasn't it?  
>Jupiter grew a guilt look on its face. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep him contained June."<p>

"It's OK Jupiter, accidents happen." She reassured.

"What is that exactly, you still haven't told me."

"Relax, I was getting to that. The thing that took over Jupiter is an Entity that we dubbed-

"JAKE!" C.J.'s voice shouted from above.

Jake and June looked up and saw C.J. and the others jump from the Aura Pegasus that hovered above them.

"What the…?" Jake asked surprised. "They're alive!"

The four of them landed and ran over to their friend.

"Bro, you're alive!" C.J. said to his best friend.

Jake smirked. "Yeah, yeah, cut the tears; how'd you guys find me."

"I lead them here." The Aura Pegasus responded turning into Adrian, now dressed in a white robe with a green shirt and black pants underneath. They all witnessed the destruction of Central City on their way here and I lead them to where my Gear was last activated.

"Nice going tearing up the place by the way." Dylan cracked.

"Oh shut up, it's not fun falling from 32,000 feet in the air."

"Well at any rate, we're glad you're safe." Jamie smirked. "It'd suck to find a replacement for you."

"Haha, you can't replace me. Someone needs to keep C.J. out of trouble." Jake said proudly.

"Speaking of trouble, who's that?" Karon asked, pointing to the quiet June.

"Oh her…? She's one of the Supernovas, but she's cool."

"My name's June." She said not getting up.

"She's a supernova?" Dylan asked surprised. "Dude ever since we got here they've been trying to kill us; how the hell did you become friends with one of them?"

"Dude, back off; I just saved her life, she's not gonna hurt us." Jake defended.

"Jake, I know you too well for your own good." C.J. stepped forward. "Face facts, not everyone can turn over a new leaf."

"What makes you say that?" Jake countered. "Jamie did it twice."

"Excuse me? Don't get me involved in your stupid Romeo and Juliet crap! She's going to kill you the second you let your guard down. These duelists are heartless and all they want are the catastrophe gears. They captured the princess of the Snow faeries, nearly killed Karon in a Kaijudo Duel, Took over the Water Civilization, and destroyed Central City. And aside from all of that, Hunted us down. And you want to be friends?"

"Jake, it's Alright. You don't have to defend me." June told him. "They're right. I really appreciate you hearing me out, and saving my life and all. But I did come here to get the gear because-"

"Because you were forced to!" Jake cut her off. "Listen, Leave NOVA. Take your family and leave while you guys still can. Because if you don't then you guys are digging deeper into your graves; I know how it feels to be alone, and to have new people enter your life. Those new people fill the void that you never want to be emptied out again. And your Brothers and Sister are probably looking for you like my friends did for me. So if you see them, I want you guys to run while you still can. You guys were forced into a War that goes beyond any of our expectations and it'll only get more dangerous as we keep moving on. So I promise you, for your guys sake… We will defeat NOVA!"

June listed to Jake's words and it hit home. She felt a tear go down her face as she cracked a smile.

"Do you promise me that…?" Jake asked her.

"I…" June started to say.

"_I Object!"_

June suddenly felt her body tightened up all over, her muscles constricting in movement. She felt pain go throughout her body as she was screaming in agony.

"Why… can't I move?"

"_I told you before you brat… YOU'RE USELESS WITHOUT MY POWER!"_

"Who's voice…?" C.J. asked freaked. "It reminds me of Neo Bolshack dragon…"

Adrian realized where the source of the voice was coming from and stared at the twisted face of Jupiter.

"It can't be…"

"Indeed it is Avatar of Life." Jupiter replied sinisterly. "The ARC Project is alive and well."

"ARC…? So that's what it is?" Jake realized.

"Artificially Resurrected Creature…" Adrian replied. "A few centuries ago, a group of Dark Lords and Swamp People Scientist discovered the ancient data of the Neo Experiment and decided to perfect it, creating the device known as the Inferno Gate. As a result, an imperfect Energy being, known as ARC was born. It couldn't do much on it's own, but if it was able to inhabit a living organism, than the effects would be catastrophic."

"So basically, he's like a version 2 of the Neo Creatures?" Dylan pointed out.

"Better yet, he's the perfect Neo Creature." Adrian corrected. "An indestructible being that can become or control whatever it desired…"

"So how do you explain him controlling her?" Jamie asked.

"It must be the Neurolinker on her neck." Jake answered. "She and her Avatar are connected through the brainwaves between the two. ARC must in control of her nervous system through the device."

"My my, you humans are very sharp indeed." Jupiter smirked. "Alas, it's time to destroy you all; And I'll start with you; we have some unfinished business." June's uncontroable finger pointed directly at Jake.

Jake nodded. "Fine then, Kettou Da!"

"Jake are you insane? We have no idea what we're going up against here." C.J. noted. "Can't we take a sec to come up with a plan or something?"

Jake chuckled. "Who said I didn't have a plan…?"

C.J. recognized Jake's words almost instantly. "You…"

Jake turned. "It's just like the time before. I'd appreciate it if you let me be the hero this time Bro; you can be the 'Voice of reason' this time around Okay?"

C.J. walked over to Jake and they bumped fist. "It's up to you bro."

"I won't let you guys down." Jake nodded.

ARC moved back and tapped the code into June's case that released the terminals for them.

The Ten shields materialized in front of them as their hands sparked up with their respected Energy attributes.

"DUEL START!" Jake and June called out…

[END]


	16. ARC Part 2

Chapter 16: ARC Part 2

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijn no Sekai, 2012]<em>

* * *

><p>"Whenever you're ready June…" Gentaro told the young duelist as she stood out in the middle of the bright and sunny grassy field in the Nature Civilization. Marcus stood across from her, Mars standing patiently until his Nature brethren made his appearance.<p>

June looked at her hand and her Battle zone, the three Wild Veggie creatures: Shaman Broccoli, Raging Orange and Dandy Eggplant all untapped and awaiting orders to attack. She turned and saw the very three creatures behind her waiting on the right moment to attack. She drew her card and took a deep breath.

"Come on June, just like we practiced!" Vanessa called out. She and the others were watching far out of the damage zone, to avoid getting hit by any debris that might come from it, despite them only using basic LV1 Kaijudo Art.

"You think she can finally get Jupiter to actually do something?" Mike asked, turning the page in his book.

"I'm pretty sure she can. After all, I did teach her myself." Vanessa said proudly.

"Just because you summoned your Supernova first doesn't make you a big shot." Mike yawned.

"You're just jealous that Marcus did before you." She countered.

"Alright you two, chill out, She's about to summon it." Peyton told them, redirecting their attention to the duel at hand.

June slid her three creatures together as the mana tapped.

"Galaxy Vortex Evolution: Jupiter, the Savage Supernova!"

The trio of vegetables all began to glow a green aura as they merged into the Giant supernova.

"Now then Jupiter, attack Mars!" June tapped and pointed to Mars.

"Moment of truth…" Marcus said, ready to brace for impact.

Jupiter roared and charged at Mars. Mars braced itself as well as the serpent heads crowded in front of his person.

The hissing dragon heads made Jupiter stop short, causing the giant to freeze in fear.

After a few moments, one of Mars' serpents crept closer to Jupter, who suddenly turned and flew frantically back at June.

"Oh come on! I really had it this time!" June cried out in displeasure.

Peyton facepalmed himself, followed by Vanessa's sighing, Mike's losing interest and Marcus rolling his eyes and releasing mars from the current duel.

"_I'm really sorry June. It's just that… Mars really scares me…"_ Jupiter told her in her head.

"It's alright. It just shows how sweet you are. It's fine." She smiled in reassurance.

"_Jupiter's a joke, like for real."_ Mars scoffed, talking to Marcus as he appeared on his shoulder. _"He's a phoenix, he should act more like a Warrior and less like a Wimp."_

"Couldn't agree more." Marcus replied.

"What did Mars say?" June asked, noticing that the two of them were staring them down.

"He said that Jupiter needs to grow a backbone and start acting like a real phoenix like the others." Marcus said bluntly.

"Jupiter is a real phoenix like the others! Just because he doesn't fight well doesn't make him any less different!" June defended.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "That's your opinion. Doesn't escape the fact that Mars is right…"

"Take that back Marcus!" June shouted at him. "You know that's not true!"

"Alright that's enough!" Gentaro broke the two up. "Marcus, apologize to your sister."

"For what? It's not my fault that her Avatar fights like the stupid vegetables that it spawns from."

"Ok that's it!" June jumped on Marcus' back and got him into the ground, wanting to kill him for making that comment.

It doesn't take the other three long for them to pull her off of him as she stared at him with teary eyes.

"Hate to say it, but you deserved that one." Peyton noted.

Marcus looked up, spitting grass out of his mouth. "Bite me."

Gentaro sighed and ran his hand through his hair, trying to find a way to fix this little predicament. "Maybe we should wrap it up for today. Go home and get some rest."

The five siblings turned to their step-father and nodded. Peyton lifted his jacket sleeve and punched a code into his wrist computer, triggering a portal that showed a mansion on the other side of the wormhole. One by one the five of them walked through and into the dark streets of Tokyo as June stopped. She turned to her father who smiled.

"Still can't leave here huh?" June asked.

Gentaro shook his head. "Sorry kiddo. Still stuck here. Don't worry though, I'll be there in spirit."

June nodded. "Good night Dad."

"Good night sweetheart." The two hugged as Gentaro kissed her on her head. June smiled from the affection as she walked through the portal.

Once it closed, Gentaro's calm demeanor suddenly shifted.

"Jupiter's getting more useless every time we test it. And my patience is wearing thin every second. I didn't want to resort to this, but I'm installing the ARC program into Jupiter's AI."

He pressed the code into his device on his arm as a separate portal led into a laboratory where scientists were monitoring the black cloud that lingered in the tube.

"Good evening ARC." Gentaro called it.

"Master…" ARC's reply was exhausted and bored as the red eyes emerged from the entity.

"How are you feeling?" Gentaro asked as he walked around the tube.

"Bodyless…" ARC replied as if annoyed by the question.

"I apologize for that. Your original body was never discovered after the Avatars raided the original laboratory. And we have yet to find you a suitable host body; at least not yet anyway."

"I see…" ARC said calmly.

"I do however have a favor to ask. Not only will it get you out of that tube, but it'll give you a body."

"Go on…" The entity said with peaked interest.

"Jupiter is weaker than I expected. Compared to the other avatars he's no stronger than a Sniper Mosquito." Gentaro explained. "I want you to aid him in his combat skills. And who knows; if you like the feel, in return you can keep the body."

ARC listened and thought for a second. "Interesting proposition… I accept.

"And ARC?"

"Yes master?"

"Make sure you treat June well. She's my baby girl."

"And if I don't?"

Gentaro chuckled. "Then that's on her."

Gentaro walked out of the room as ARC laughed to himself in pleasure.

* * *

><p><em>[Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"I'll start." June said as she set mana and ended.<p>

Jake drew and set mana as well, ending his turn.

June drew and set light mana, tapping both. "I summon Shaman Broccoli."

The Broccoli-like creature materialized behind June, waving it's staff around.

Jake drew and set Nature mana, tapping both. "I generate Leopard Glory Sword and end my turn."

A Gold blade materialized behind Jake as June drew her next card.

She set it and tapped two. "I summon Raging Orange."

A Orange-like humanoid dressed in green loincloths materialized and started air boxing, waiting for June to send it on the attack.

"Shaman, Broccoli, break his shields, Ike!" June tapped her creature.

Shaman Broccoli ran over and smashed one of Jake's shields as he shielded himself from the shards. He retrieved the card and drew his next one.

Setting mana, he tapped all three. "I summon Kultos, Knight Vizier and end my turn."

A small gold warrior with cyan blue highlighted feathers materialized behind Jake.

June drew and set mana. "I summon Mardes, Sky knight and end my turn."

A Silver and gold Centaur-like creature rode into the area as it whinnied to mark its arrival. Jake felt a little intimidated by the 3-1 ratio, but he kept his cool. All he was thinking of was breaking her bond with ARC and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Jake drew and set mana. "I summon Gastin the Patroller!"

A Silver colored bird motif warrior materialized, with its wings different colors. His left blue and his right green, also under its feet a matching color star under each.

"Also: Overdrive: Nature!"

Gastin's card began to glow green as Gastin flapped his green wing, stirring up a small tornado.

"With his Overdrive ability, I can put one creature with a cost of 3 or less from my hand into the battle zone. And I choose: Bronze-Arm Tribe!"

Bronze emerged from the tornado, throwing Jake an extra mana as a thanks for allowing him to fight.

"I end my turn from there." Jake concluded.

ARC chuckled. "How ironic; as strong as you seem to be, this duel will be ending so quickly. Do it June."

June's hand drew the card as her eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Not good." Jake noticed. "She's getting ready to summon him."

"No! I refuse to summon it!" she tries to force her hand to her mana zone so she can drop Jupiter there, but of course ARC made her drop the other card in her hand.

_"Unless you want to shatter your arm, I'd suggest you stop resisting you brat."_ ARC snarled in her head. "_Now then… SUMMON ME!"_

The trio of creatures behind her began to glow green as they all shot into the air. June's involuntary arms slid the cards on top of each other as she set Jupiter on top.

"Galaxy Vortex Evolution: Jupiter, the Savage Supernova!" She said regrettably.

Jupiter formed from the three beams of neon-green light as the evil beast landed.

The other members of KG stared at awe at the size of Jupiter, easily being the largest of the Supernovas that they encountered.

"Jake, that plan of yours, it'd be great to break it out now!" C.J. called out.

"Working on it!" Jake said, while shielding himself.

"Triple Break!" Jupiter roared and unleashed a beam of pure energy like earlier, this time taking Kultos out luckily through its blocker.

ARC smirked. "Maybe I was wrong about you after all…"

"There's more to me than meets the eye." Jake smirked as he drew. "Generate Evolution: Leopard Glory Sword into Grand Cross Catastrophe; then I cross it onto Gastin."

The guardian-like armor surrounded Gastin as it charged in for the attack.

"Gastin break her shield Ike!"

Gastin swooped through a shield, not fazing the duelist. June picked the card and added it to her hand. She drew and set mana.

"What a nuisance that gear is…" ARC remarked.

"I end my turn." June said looking at the card in her hand.

"_Why don't you attack?"_ ARC asked. _"I'm being lenient and giving you enough freedom to duel."_

June didn't reply to that as she watched Jake draw his next card.

"I summon Ultimus, Supreme Law Elemental." Jake called out as a smaller Human-sized priest-like Shining command materialized. It stood firm with its textbook of laws in one hand and his scales of justice in the other.

June drew another card and ended once again.

* * *

><p>"Is she doing that on purpose?" Dylan asked his team. "I can understand that with Grand Cross Catastrophe, Jake's pretty much solid, but doesn't Jupiter benefit from its meteorburn?"<p>

"Unless of course, June is buying time for Jake to summon something…" Karon deduced.

* * *

><p>Jake drew and sighed in relief. "Thanks for stalling June."<p>

June smiled and ARC noticed. _"Why you little…"_

"Ultimus, Evolve into Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits!"

Ultimus floated into the air and sprouted its white angelic wings as it transformed into Alcadeias. It floated back down and started down at Jupiter, who was furious that June purposely allowed that to take place.

"Alcadeias, Double Break!"

Alcadeias charged his palms and shot the beams of energy through her two shields. She shielded herself, from the attack as Jupiter roared in anger.

June drew and set mana.

"I cast Super Spark!" she held the card in the air as lightning stuck from the dark sky and onto Gastin who was paralyzed.

Jake froze at the sight of Gastin tapping.

"Now Jupiter… Triple Break!"

Jupiter roared and unleashed his attack a second time, taking out three shields as Jake held his ground as hard as he could.

"Meteorburn! By sending one creature from under Jupiter, I can send it into the Battle Zone, and I choose Mardes.

One of Jupiter's Evo crystals detached and turned into Mardes.

"I end my turn."

Jake shook the dirt from his hair as he revealed one of the cards in his hand. "Shield Trigger: Super Spark!"

"What!" ARC said surprised as Mardes tapped.

Jake drew and set the card in mana. "I Generate Glorious Heaven's Arm and Cross it onto Alcadeias."

Alcadeias' arm was shod with the armor and the sword as it's glowing might had Jupiter's name written all over it.

"Alcadeias, Attack Jupiter!"

Tenshi nodded as it dashed towards the monster. Jupiter and Alcadeias exchanged blow after blow until Alcadeias overpowered it and impaled it in the stomach area with the blade.

"It's… Impossible!" ARC struggled to say. "I'm invincible…! You're going to regret this…"

Alcadeias didn't budge as he stared deep into Jupiter's eyes. "You're welcome…" Alcadeias pulled the blade up so that the entire top half of the body spewed out green liquid-like energy.

ARC yelled in excruciating pain as it exploded in front of everyone, marking the 4th supernova to be destroyed.

June couldn't help to feel an overwhelming sense of joy from seeing that. ARC was finally defeated, and she didn't have to worry about him anytime soon her nightmare was finally put to rest.

"He said thank you for saving him." June told Jake.

Jake smiled. "Like I said, I promise to defeat NOVA and anything that stands in our way. Bronze-arm tribe, Break her shield Ike!"

Bronze nodded and hurled his pitchfork at the shield, shattering it.

"Gastin, Break her shield!"

Gastin nodded and whipped up a tornado that took out the final shield.

June collected the two cards, both being Nature Triggers: Natural Snare, and Tribal Commune. However with Alcadeias, they were useless. She didn't care though. Jake clearly won this match so she didn't feel any regret. She drew her final card and ended her turn.

"Thank you for keeping your promise Jake." June smiled. "I knew I could trust you."

Jake nodded as he rested his hand on Alcadeias. "Alcadeias Todome-

Jake suddenly felt a sharp coldness down his spine, like something dark and sinister just happened. He looked around seeing everything like normal. His friends relieved that Jupiter was defeated and edging him on to finish the duel, and his opponent waiting for him to deliver the final attack.

"_What's the matter boy?"_ ARC's voice hissed in Jake's head.

Tenshi felt a sharp pain in his body as black lightning formed around his body. He began to yell in agony as the pulses kept shooting through him with every motion.

"Tenshi, what's wrong?" Jake called to his partner.

"My body… I can't move it!" he said. struggling to get feeling.

Adrian realized instantly what happened. "JAKE! RELEASE TENSHI FROM HIS EVO CRYSTAL NOW!"

"_Too late…"_ ARC said in Tenshi's head as the Shining Command yelled at the top of his lungs. He dropped to his knees and tried to keep his composure, put the pain was too great. His body stopped sparking as he picked himself up.

"Tenshi…?" Jake asked.

Alcadeias turned as his eyes flashed red. "Try again, Boy!"

June froze in fear. "He…"

"ARC switched over to Tenshi!" Jamie realized.

ARC laughed sinisterly as he brought his blade down onto the ground, causing a tremor to occur. He slashed the K-Terminal, forcing Jake to run back to his friends as June watched in horror.

"You're…"

"Dead…?" ARC finished. "Cleary I'm not. Like I said… I'm

Invincible!" he raised his blade into the air and stuck.

June screamed in fear; however Gastin shielded her, taking the hit. ARC smirked and smacked the creature away like a toy as his dark red eyes focused on her again.

"I'll demonstrate on you… what happens when my followers disobey me!"

He readied his blade again as he chased June, swiping and causing destruction every step.

"JAKE!" She screamed his name as he bolted towards her.

Jake ran as fast as he could, searching his deck for the King's Blade Gear to repel ARC's attack. And then he realized something.

"June, Cross over with me!" Jake called out.

June looked puzzled until she saw the King's Blade gear in his hand and realized what he was getting at. She took the Queen's shield gear from her pocket and charged her Kaijudo Energy.

"CROSS OVER!" they said simultaneously as the bright light of the gears merged together, in addition to blinding ARC.

Once it cleared, the duo was armed with their gears, along with Mardes and Ragmal, Sky Knight accompanying Jake; Their respected Arc Seraphim crossed arms as Jake pulled out his elemental comet.

"Vortex Evolution: Mine, the Shining Comet!"

The two creatures fused together as they transformed into a White, Gold and green colored phoenix. Resembling Venus in terms of elegance, Mine's four wings shimmered with grace as the two asteroids rested on his sides, covered in armor that charged the solar energy hitting the panels on them.

"Ready June…?" Jake asked.

"Ready…" She nodded. The trio bolted towards ARC and attacked, without letup, even though ARC defended himself as well.

"Amazing…" Adrian said surprised. "Never in my life would I ever have lived to see humans fight a creature and succeed. Jake has surpassed my expectations."

"Well that's Jake for you. He may seem like the logical one, but when it comes to him striving for something, he's more determined than I'd ever be." C.J. admitted.

ARC meanwhile was fed up with them at this point. He kicked mine to the side and dove towards Jake, who he dueled with via swords. Despite his tactical maneuvers, Jake had each blade broken one by one until ARC had him aching on the ground.

"Now then… DIE!" ARC raised his blade towards the weakened Jake as he realized that this was the end of him…

Or so he thought…

June leapt in front of Jake and felt the unbearable pain that came from the metal of the blade that skidded down her back. She saw Jake's wide-eyed expression and smiled.

"I owed you…" She smiled. Her eyes rolled back as she plopped on top of Jake, blood staining her jacket.

"JUNE!" He sat up and rolled her over to feel her pulse, slowly dropping. The oozing thick red liquid staining his hands freaked him out even more as the young teen was dying in his arms.

Mine witnessed that and like Jake, felt fury envelop them.

"Excellent…" ARC smiled. "Get mad…"

"Jake's about to rage out…" Dylan stated.

"JAKE, NO!" Adrian shouted. "Getting mad will just make ARC's bond w/ Tenshi stronger!"

"You… You…" Jake clutched her. "I'LL END YOU!"

Mine responded to Jake's anger and shot so fast and so hard that ARC doubled over when said phoenix collided. Mine didn't give him time to react as it to work on ARC, sending it hurdling into the air and beating its way back down.

ARC took every hit. The fact that if this body was destroyed, he could hop to the next; the fact that June was virtually dead was also very pleasing. The fact that Jake's anger only made him more powerful… just priceless in his eyes.

Once ARC crashed into the ground, Mine dove forward to finish him off. ARC smirked and stopped him with one hand, blasting Mine back with ease with one energy blast, shocking Jake.

"Now then… to finish you off." ARC aimed his palm at Jake as his friends ran frantically towards him.

"Good bye…" ARC laughed as he charged his beam.

A card in June's pocket started to glimmer as Jake reached for it. He recognized the card and didn't hesitate to summon the creature.

Royal Durian materialized and stopped ARC's movement, draining its Evo crystal.

"Why you… I was so close!" ARC cursed as Alcadeias de-transformed back into Ultimus, who in turn disappeared as well.

Durian turned to the group, bowed and went on his way.

"Dude are you OK?" C.J. asked him. He looked at Jake's face and realized that said teen was devastated.

"She's dying…" Jake said.

"She needs medical attention immediately." Adrian noted. "Unfortunately, Nikki's too far out to deal with this."

"We can't let her die!" Jake shouted at him.

"Don't you think I know that?" Adrian snapped back. "Our only option is to storm their airship and treat her wound there."

"Are you kidding; that's suicide!" Dylan noted. "It was hell getting through Liquid people controlled by NOVA, how much worse do you think it'll be getting through the entire army?"

"We don't have a choice." Karon replied. "We all owe her our lives."

"Then it's settled. You five will storm the Base, get her treatment and get out, understood? I'm going to get Sarina and look for Wyatt and Nikki so we can deal with this ARC situation."

"What happened to him?" Jake asked.

"Royal Durian put a lock on the EVO Crystal to keep it from evolving into Alcadeias. Jake, I'm warning you… DO NOT evolve Tenshi into Alcadeias. ARC is like a parasite, with Alcadeias seeming to be an ideal body-type for it. The second that lock on it breaks, he'll have complete control and Tenshi will be gone forever is that clear?"

Jake nodded. "So that means…"

"That your part of the mission is to safely get her back to health. The other four are gonna protect the two of you. Is that clear?"

C.J. and the others nodded.

The sun crept up over the horizon as C.J. and his team looked up at the passing NOVA airship.

Tsume materialized on C.J.'s shoulder.

"Ready to run wild?" Tsume asked.

"As always." He nodded.

Tsume disappeared from his shoulder as he flew from overhead.

"All aboard to the Apocalypse Express!" Tsume called.

The group, minus Adrian got on as Tsume took off.

Adrian stared at the group as the took off.

"Be careful… This may be the greatest fight for your lives…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Ryuusei replayed ARC's actions earlier and the current even as the Dolzark zooms towards the ship. He grinned evily at the sight. "Everything's going according to plan. "Arcadia's in Alcadeias, The Gears are coming to me personally… and I'm that much closer to awakening you… Master Thanatos…"<p>

[END]


	17. Burning in the Skies

Chapter 17: Burning in the Skies

* * *

><p><strong><em>[JAXA HQ, Present time]<em>**

* * *

><p>"Almost got it…" Shotaro told himself as he kept typing as fast as his fingers would move. Ever since he was released from the hospital a few hours after he woke up, he was stuck in his office nonstop, looking for ways to bring the teens back from the Kaijin no Sekai, or even get himself over there if they needed back up. Mr. Roman did come into contact with JAXA shortly after that incident and he intends on dispatching some S-Ranks if the situation calls for it.<p>

Shotaro scratched his dark hair being stumped on the coding that popped onto his screen. Typing a bit more, his eyes widened to what the results came out to be.

"I did it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "This is perfect!" he sent the information to Tachibana immediately as he leapt up and made his way into the labs.

* * *

><p>Once down there, Shotaro called all of the engineers towards him as they gathered.<p>

"Attention everyone!" Shotaro called out loudly. "Thank you for dedicating your time and putting aside your current projects to assist the DCA in recovering the young people who were lost in the World known as the Kaijin no Sekai. We've spent years trying to find ways to return to this world to discover more about it and unfortunately these five teenagers have found themselves unwillingly stuck in the very world; How ironic right?"

A few chuckles were heard, which made Shotaro know that he succeeded in lightening the gloomy mood of the dedicated workers who were worrying about them.

"After spending the last 18 hours through constant coding, I've discovered a way to not only locate them, but also to bring them back here!

The group of engineers and scientist applauded as Shotaro smiled enthusiastically.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS!" Tachibana nearly kicked the door down, more furious than he'd ever find himself.

Everyone was surprised, especially Shotaro.

"Are you out of your mind Shotaro?" Tachibana scolded. "If you activate this device in their base of operations, you're giving NOVA the opportunity to start a mass invasion! We've seen what 3 teenagers could do in terms of destruction; imagine hundreds of them and legions of creatures at that!"

"How else do you expect to get them back? Tachibana, it was a miracle that Kengo, Yuuki and I were even able to crawl back from there. This is our only shot at this, there is no other way!"

"Well then you better find another way!" Tachibana snapped. "It's one thing to save lives, but by doing this you're putting more lives in jeopardy!"

Tachibana stormed off leaving the room silent. Shotaro cleared his throat and turned to the others.

"Sorry for the interruption. This technology is based on our Portal technology that we developed. It's not perfect, but through our tests, we made a way to make it useable without the power of electricity, and more on the mysterious element that most have dubbed: Kaijudo Energy, the manifestation of Physical and Mental training that some players of the TCG have discovered in recent years. In addition it has shown to have the same makeup as to pulling the desired creature from their world, into ours. Basically what I'm saying is, with our technology, in addition to this transferring of live organisms through this Art, we can successfully 'Summon' the kids here, without leaving a 'wormhole', so to speak, in the other world, which would allow the enemy to crawl through after them. On that note we need to get started as soon as possible is that understood?"

The group nod and they don't hesitate to get started working.

Shotaro smiled and nod. "Just a little while longer; and we'll see if all this trouble was worth it…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>[Kaijin no Sekai, Present time]<em>**

* * *

><p>"We'll be there in a few minutes." Tsume said as he soared higher into the air.<p>

C.J. nodded and turned to Jake who cradled the dying June in his arms, feeling guilty about this mess.

"Don't worry; she'll be alright." C.J. told his friend.

Jake looked up and nodded, although that belief was slowly slipping.

"Hey, uh… what are those?" Dylan pointed ahead as the group looked on.

Despite being a few thousand feet higher than their current position, they could tell that something was flying out of one of the hatches of the airship. They resembled lizard-like creatures with different types of weaponry attached to their bodies as they screeched away to alert their allies of the group.

"Aren't those Armored Wyverns…?" Karon tried to figure out. It struck him as odd to see creatures like that in the space between both the Light and Nature Civilizations.

"It's much worse than that; those are Skyterrors!" Jamie recognized.

"What are Skyterrors doing all the way out here?" C.J. asked.

"They must belong to NOVA." Tsume pointed out. "So much for storming the base head-on…"

"I got an idea." C.J. said with confidence. "Adrian said that we had to protect Jake and June at all cost while we made our way towards the base. And that's what we're going to do."

C.J. stood up and drew a card from his deck. "I summon Super Terradragon Bramgriel!"

He threw the card into the air as it formed into a giant crimsoned mane purple Dragon, three sets of wings lined down its back. The Terradragon roared as it lowered itself to Tsume's level, close enough for C.J. to jump on.

"Jamie, Karon and Dylan, summon any one of your creatures that can fly and follow my lead. Tsume, the second you see an opening towards the ship, don't hesitate to ram it, understood?"

The group nodded understanding fully.

"Let's get to work!"

Jamie, Karon and Dylan nodded, each summoning Bolshack Yamato Dragon, Ballom, Master of Death and Super Torrentdragon Zaum Poseidam. The quartet shot ahead and clashed with the legion of Wyverns.

Ballom extended his wings and shot its black feathers which wiped the entire frontline of Rocketdive Skyterrors instantly, not leaving even a missile shell left.

"You know, since Ballom can kill everything that's not darkness, why couldn't he wipe this all out in the first place?" C.J. asks curiously.

"His range can only go so far." Karon replied.

"Besides, if it was that easy then your plan would've been a waste." Dylan noted.

C.J. turned away. "Good point…" he then drew 'Octillion Force' from his deck case and tossed it ahead.

"Generate: Octillion force!"

The bits of armor materialized and surrounded the dragon.

"And Cross!" C.J. waved his arm as the armor clasped onto the dragon.

Bramgriel, accepting the added boost dodged the endless bullets of the enemy Gatling Skyterrors and in return sliced the turrets and the lizards into exploding fireballs.

* * *

><p>Compared to C.J. and Karon's fairness with the enemy, Jamie and Blaze had to push harder. Dodging the Energy cannon from the Cutthroat Skyterror was one thing, however dodging the Mine lord Skyterror's Mines were another story.<p>

Blaze dove down from the 3rd shot Cutthroat Skyterror took on them, however that didn't stop its group of Minelords to cover the area surrounding with mines, causing both Jamie and Blaze to fly back, in the crosshairs of the Cannon.

"Are you OK?" Blaze asked his partner.

"I'll survive." Jamie reassured, her face black from the smoke. "I have an idea. Just focus on taking out Cutthroat."

"What are you planning?"

"Have you ever heard of the game called duck hunt?" Jamie asked.

"No, I haven't."

"Allow me to demonstrate how you play." She reached into her pocket, pulling out the Crimson rifle card she kept hidden.

"Crimson Rifle: Cross Over!" she called out as her right forearm was covered in the armor of the weapon. She aimed and began to take down the Minelords as they passed her by. With the added support, Blaze was able to gain equal footing with the Skyterror. Now dodging its attacks, he found himself getting closer and closer.

Blaze's sword ignited in fire as he slashed the cannon off the cutthroat's back, which in turn exploded, taking the creature with it.

Jamie blew the smoke from the gun barrel off in victory. "Who knew a thirty-year old video game would come in handy at a time like this?"

"_Stay focused Jamie, there's a group of Scarlet's on your six." _ C.J. messaged her through the communicator on her Deck case.

Blaze turned saw the four Scarlet Skyterrors flying towards them. He couldn't help but smirk in amusement. "Scarlet Skyterrors aren't made for combat."

His claw and his blade both ignited once again as he slashed, sending a horizontal wave of flames ahead, incinerating them.

"They're made for crowd control when it comes to blockers."

"Taken care of it;" She replied keeping her composure.

C.J. rolled his eyes and kept moving forward.

* * *

><p>"OK Lancer, it's up to us now." Dylan told his dragon. "Let's go!"<p>

Zaum Poseidam roared and began to shoot cannons of water from its heads as the Mega Assault Skyterrors fought back shooting their heavy artillery back. Despite their efforts, Zaum proved to be too much for them, the armored wyvern's weaponry short circuiting and self-destructing on them.

"Yeah!" Dylan said excitedly.

"_DYLAN WATCH YOUR BACK!"_ C.J. yelled in his communicator.

Dylan turned and saw the inevitable horror of the Ruthless and Javelin Skyterrors that surrounded him. If there was one thing that these two Wyverns loved more than anything, it was Water Creatures; and something as big as a Hydro Dragon would be more food than they could live off of.

Dylan shielded himself so he didn't have to witness his life deteriorate; however just as they were about to strike, they all froze in place. After a few seconds of not feeling any thing, he moved his arms and saw them all turn gray and into dust scattered by the wind.

"What the…?" He looked around and realized that black feathers were mixed in.

Karon and Ballom floated next to them, with the former shaking his head.

"You need to get a grip."

Dylan looked at him with an annoyed expression. "Go molt somewhere."

* * *

><p>With the Skyterrors defeated, the group flew back with Tsume and Jake as they made their way closer to the airship.<p>

"Almost there… just a little further…" C.J. said to himself.

Suddenly they heard a lone Wyvern screech in the air, encircling the NOVA Airship.

"I'm starting to get sick of Wyverns…" Tsume said irritated.

"Relax, what's a Draglide going to do?" C.J. asked.

The Rider of the Draglide, a Dragonoid, pulled from its pouch an interesting item, one that caught their attention quickly.

"Is that a…" Jake realized.

"Evo crystal?" C.J. finished. "I didn't know Wyverns could evolve!"

"And we go from the strategic leader, to the innocent newbie." Karon sighed. "Jeez what happened to us since we were split up?"

"There's only one creature that Wyverns could evolve into." Jamie explained.

The rider held the crystal up as the sun hit it directly. The creature was covered in a red aura as it mutated into a Crimson colored wyvern, twice in size, covered in gold armor. Flames spewed from its body and two cannons grew from its abdomen. The rider of the Wyvern was now covered in similar armor, now resembling a paladin. The Wyvern flapped its navy blue wings and charged forward.

"It's called Balesk Baj, the Timeburner." Jamie dubbed it.

"How fitting; every moment we waste dealing with these things, June continues to fight for her life." Jake said with an annoyed expression in his voice.

"Don't worry dude, we'll get through this." C.J. reassured.

Suddenly something rammed Balesk off course, causing it to twirl into a spiral in the air.

"What was that?" C.J. looked.

The mysterious object flapped its wings and turned, revealing to be Soul Phoenix. It nodded, turning back and continuing to get Balesk further out.

"Alright Sarina; God I love her!" C.J. said excitedly. "Alright let's keep moving.

Jamie was hesitant to move but once C.J.'s words caught up to her they followed the team upward.

"Is everything alright?" Blaze asked.

"Oh yeah… I'm fine." Jamie said, blushing a bit. "Just a little light headed…"

* * *

><p>"Marcus, Mike! Have you seen June anywhere?" Vanessa ran towards the two, who surprisingly not fighting for once, but enjoying breakfast.<p>

"Haven't seen her; Why what happened?" Marcus asked, chewing on his bagel.

"Master Ryuusei sent her on a Raid Mission to Central City yesterday and Jupiter went berserk, destroying the entire city!"

"And she hasn't come back?" Mike asked. "That seems too unlikely for Jupiter to not have protected her. He's just now gaining control of the ARC Program."

"I'm worried that something might've happened. I searched the wreckage, but Central City was practically wiped out."

"Where's Peyton?" Marcus asked.

"Searching for clues on the ground… Guys, I'm really scared right now; I mean, that's our little sister out there."

Marcus and Mike nod and they get up from the table.

"We'll start looking for traces." Mike stated. "We'll find her."

_INTRUDER ALERT! REPEAT: INTRUDER ALERT!_

The loud speaker roared throughout the entire base alerting the NOVA base was infiltrated.

"At a time like this?" Vanessa said in despair.

"Someone must've tripped the alarm by accident." Marcus noted. "Not our problem; June comes first."

Vanessa smiled. "You two are really awesome when we get along, you know that?"

"Less talking, more searching, we got a baby sister to find." Marcus shooed Vanessa away as she nodded and ran, followed by her step brothers.

* * *

><p>"This is far as we can go." Tsume said as the teens jumped into the hangar opening. "All of us together in this cramped space would just get us all killed. Call us if you need us, we'll be out here."<p>

C.J. nodded. "Tsume…"

"What's up kiddo?"

C.J. took a minute to talk. "Thanks for going this far for us."

Tsume chuckled. "I am the King of the Kaijin no Sekai after all. Even if I never knew you, I would've protected my kingdom to my last breath regardless. I've done it countless times over the centuries, this time's no different."

C.J. smirked. "I understand; just wanted to let you know anyway, Fiona Knight."

"Goodbye for now… Terra Knight." Tsume and the others pulled out as armies of NOVA affiliated creatures started to swarm in all different directions.

"Just like old times, huh Kage?" Tsume turned to the Ballom.

Ballom chuckled and clapped his hands together. "Hard to say that without the 'Copperhead'." He pulled his hands apart and chucked the black energy ball which blew away a small portion of the hundreds of creatures that made their way.

"Ah well, we got Blaze; just gotta make do with what we got."

Blaze smirked, feeling the effects of the 'New guy' role that Tsume and Kage dubbed him as. "So many centuries and I'm still stuck with that."

Tsume chuckled. "Don't worry, it could be worse."

"How so?"

"You could still be Neo Bolshack Dragon, a smoldering piece of crap in the Fire Civilization dirt."

Yamato Dragon got quiet. "Good point; by the way, can we really handle this and keep an eye on the kids?"

And just as he asked that, a cyan blue beam shot from under them and into a crowd of creatures as Cruel Naga soared upward, with Wise Starnoid riding it. Aura Pegasus followed by Soul Phoenix joined them.

"With their help…? Yeah I think we can manage." Tsume said with brimming confidence.

* * *

><p>Inside the base, Jamie and Dylan both shot their ways through the various Guards, with the Crimson Rifle and the Typhoon Bazooka respectively, slowly guiding the others safely through each corner. All the while the ladder three searched every room for a medical station so they could drop Jake and June off. Jake carried June on his back with his sweatshirt on her to put more pressure on the bleeding, despite not being in the greatest shape of his life either.<p>

"Damn, I knew it was gonna be hard, but this is seriously draining me right now." Dylan said, his hand sparking less vibrantly.

"No complaining, just keep moving." Jamie said, cocking her rifle back, which reloaded it with more Energy bullets.

"How she holding up…?" C.J. asked Jake.

"She's maintaining. Her breathing's getting slower but I'm sure we'll find some supplies in time." Jake said sort of relieved. "You're worrying a lot about this."

C.J. shrugged his shoulders. "I know what it feels like to have someone die in my arms. I just don't want you to experience what I felt."

"Appreciate it." Jake nodded.

"Come on, let's go." Karon motioned the two to follow along as the group ran into a dark wide-opened room.

"What is this…?" Jamie asked. She pressed a switch on her rifle, activating the night scope sensor which illuminated anything it touched.

"It looks like a training field." Dylan said. Getting a closer look he noticed GYM equipment and dueling tables and K-terminals to the side of the room.

"More like a GYM." Karon pointed out. "Looks big enough..."

"_Enjoying your tour?"_ A dark voice suddenly asked the group.

"That voice…" Karon froze.

"_Long time no see, Dark reaper, looks like you escaped death…" _

The lights turned on, shocking their eyes, but once their eyes refocused they looked up at the balcony seeing Peyton awaiting them.

"You can't cheat death twice." He said. "Ready for round 2?"

Karon took a step back, which surprised the team. This was the first time they seen Karon scared.

"Dude stay focused, remember we gotta keep moving." C.J. told him.

"You guys need to run." Karon told them. "Get the girl to safety and just get out now, before he kills us all."

"We're not leaving you dude, that's insane." C.J. snapped.

"JUST SHUT UP AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Karon exploded in anger.

Now his team really got the message. They never, in all of their time knowing him individually, seen him scared, nor upset. Karon was always the easy going, cool headed, prodigy of the dueling world, finding trumps in near-impossible situations. But this guy… showed a side that they never knew existed.

"Whatever you say… Jake come on, no telling how long June can last without seeing someone."

"June…?" Peyton heard C.J. talk as he looked at Jake. There he confirmed it, seeing her pale face and green lock of hair rest on Jake's shoulder.

"JUNE!" Peyton leapt off the balcony and ran towards Jake, in a blind fury.

"Jamie, Dylan!" C.J. alerted.

The duo nodded and got in front of them began to shoot towards Peyton, who ducked the blasts, socking Dylan and kicking Jamie to the side, with literally no effort.

"Holy crap…" Jake said, awestruck.

"Jake, move it!" C.J. said, generating the Emerald Claws and the Fire Blades to cut the rampaging Peyton off and to try and hold him back.

Peyton right hooked C.J. causing him to fall towards the ground; He caught himself and twisted his palm to deliver a counter kick fueled by the booster on the skate. He ducked that as well, but C.J. pushes himself up to flip up straight and heel kick him. Peyton blocked and pushed C.J. back causing the fighter to hit the wooden floor. As Peyton was breathing heavily at that, he heard the metal doors behind him slide shut, realizing that Jake made it out safely.

"Not getting away that easily!" Peyton snarled. He started to run, but felt a tight grip on his shoulder.

"I could say the same thing for you. After all, you can't cheat death twice." Karon smirked, regaining his composure.

Peyton turned and smirked. "You're going to regret this; for stopping me, for invading our base, and for hurting June…"

Karon smirked. "Hate me all you want. All I care is getting my revenge and my Gear back."

Peyton thought and nodded. "How about we wager a bet… If you win, I'll tell you the location of the Tsunami gear. If I win…"

"You can have the remaining four." Karon spoke for him.

Jamie and Dylan managed to get up and get C.J. to safety.

"Has Karon lost his mind? Why would he agree to terms like that?"

"Looks like we just have to trust his instincts on this one…" C.J. said with faith in his teammate.

Peyton nodded. "Deal." He pressed a button on his case, making two of the K-terminals slide to the center of the room as the ten shields deployed.

"DUEL START!"

[END]


	18. Clash of the Reapers

Chapter 18: Clash of the Reapers

As the agents scrambled throughout the hallways of the ship, Jake looks around the corner to make sure it's clear before he started to move again. He turned back towards the doorway on the other side, thinking about his friends he was forced to leave behind for their sake.

"Where… am I?" June's voice whispered in Jake's ear. She was still weak, but she regained consciousness.

"We're in the NOVA Airship." Jake whispered back. "How are you feeling?"

"Jake…?" She asked. The searing pain in her back made the memories of the hour prior come flooding back to her. "What happened to ARC?"

"Your Royal Durian sealed My Deck Avatar's Evo crystal alongside ARC. As long as he doesn't evolve, ARC's not a threat to anyone." Jake reassured.

"How'd we get back to the ship?" She asked.

Jake looked around the corner and realized that the agents left and the coast was clear. He got up and started running as fast as he could.

"My friends and I broke into the base to get you better. At the moment, the entire place is on red alert looking for us. My friends are fighting against one of the Supernovas I think."

"What did they look like?" June asked.

"He was tall, built, and kinda gave that 'Grim Reaper' vibe."

"Must've been Peyton…" June said, almost sure.

"You don't sound so relaxed." Jake mentioned.

"Peyton is the strongest of the five. The only person able to take him down is someone who can match his ruthlessness…"

Jake stops and looks around the corner. "In that case they should be fine."

"What makes-… what makes, you say that…?" June asked, feeling the pain come back.

"My friend Karon has that same demeanor."

"Karon Davidson…? He was with you guys?" June asked, obviously not realizing. She smirked and laid her head on his shoulder closing her eyes.

"Maybe your right..." She told him. "Hey Jake… I appreciate your effort…" Her grip loosened on his shoulder and drooped onto his side.

"June?" Jake looked over his shoulder and realized that she stopped moving.

"June wake up;" He told her, but he received no reply.

"Dammit, gotta find help." He said. He turned the corner and kept running.

* * *

><p>Both at two mana each and both having a creature, Melnia on Karon's side and Pierr on Peyton's, Karon set his third darkness mana and tapped all three cards.<p>

"I summon Maxval, Electric Shadow." Karon set the Water/Darkness creature into the battle zone as the cyan and navy blue humanoid materialized behind him. The reptilian-faced creature smirked at the formally dressed puppet, eagerly waiting to eat it.

"With Maxval, all of my darkness creatures cost one less to summon." Karon said. He then moved his fingers to Melnia. "Break his shield, Ike!"

Melnia nodded and quickly disappeared and reappeared, slicing one of the shields in half.

Peyton took the shield and looked at it. "Shield trigger X: Power Mask; I cross it onto Pierr."

A bronze colored skeletal-like mask materialized onto Pierr's head. The puppet felt the mask and chuckled in its little dark puppet way.

"I end my turn." Karon said calmly.

Peyton drew his card and set it in mana. "I summon Vines, the Shadow Warrior."

A lavender colored Swamp People-type creature materialized with her arms crossed.

"When she's summoned, you have to destroy one of your blockers. And since only maxval's on your side…"

"I'll destroy Maxval." Karon finished for him.

Peyton nodded and snapped his fingers. Vines hopped into the air as her left leg reformed into a gold-spiked claw appendage, that reached out and crushed Maxval.

Karon sent his cost reducing blocker to mana as Vines landed.

"I end my turn." Peyton said relaxed.

Karon snickered and drew his next card, much to peyton's pleasure.

"I assure you this duel will have a different outcome than our last encounter." Peyton told him getting ready to instill the fear into Karon.

"For once, I completely agree." Karon tapped three mana. "I cast: Spiral Drive; Return Pierr back to your hand!"  
>"What?" Peyton said shocked as Melnia took a hold of the ice blade and slashed the puppet back.<p>

"And I also use its Overdrive." He tapped the extra darkness mana causing Maxval in his graveyard to shimmer.

"Spiral Drive's Overdrive allows me to take a creature from my grave and add it to my hand."

He took the card back and smirked. "This duel will end differently… With my victory…! Melnia, Ike!"

Melnia repeated the process and took out Peyton's second shield.

Peyton smirked, admiring Karon's determination. "Is that right? Well then, I guess I should get serious then." He took his shield and looked at it. "Shield trigger: Ghost Touch."

Karon shuffled his hand and threw one of the two cards into the grave. Unfortunately it was Maxval.

"So much for that…" Peyton smirked in pleasure. "Ended up right back in the grave…" he drew his next card and set it.

"I summon two Pierrs."

The twin puppets materialized and laughed eerily implying something bad on the horizon.

* * *

><p>"Karon seems calm." C.J. noticed.<p>

"He's always calm, that's not new." Jamie reminded.

"No I mean… I don't know how to explain. But something's different. Just something about this duel makes him… I don't know, look stronger."

* * *

><p>"Vines break his shield Ike!"<p>

Vines jumped and used her claw on one of Karon's shields as the shards went past. It returned to his hand as he sighed. "No trigger."

Peyton smirked. "Here we go again…"

Karon drew and set the broken shield to mana, revealing it to be Aqua Surfer.

* * *

><p>"He got a trigger but he didn't use it…?" Dylan said surprised.<p>

"He must be planning ahead." Jamie replied.

* * *

><p>"I summon Vashuna, Sword Dancer."<p>

Vashuna materialized behind Karon and held it's swords at its sides, awaiting Karon's orders to strike.

"I end my turn."

* * *

><p>"Is he insane?" Dylan asked. "It's like he's afraid to attack; Melnia can't be blocked so this is the perfect opportunity to do something."<p>

"There's something more to it." Jamie answered again. "I'm getting the feeling that he's doing it on purpose."

"To make sure his opponent doesn't get his trump card?" C.J. asked.

"Exactly; Karon must've figured that out and that's the reason why he hasn't attacked yet."

"Well that makes sense." Dylan said. "But even so, he's gonna have to make a move at some point."

* * *

><p>"He'd have to get rid of the twins first. Two slayers that block the second one of his creatures move isn't something to take lightly."<p>

"Very bad move…" Peyton said sinisterly. He drew and dropped the card into mana.

"Galaxy Vortex Evolution: Pluto, the Death Supernova!"

The twin psycho dolls and vines all came closer and merged into the gigantic machine-like phoenix.

"This is going to be sweet." Peyton said. "I'll kill you and make your creatures watch! Pluto… Triple break!"

Pluto unleashed its tentacles towards the three shields as they broke apart, leaving just one left.

Karon took a deep breath as he looked at the cards in his hand.

"Shield trigger…" he said.

Peyton froze. "No way…"

"Emergency Typhoon, I draw two cards and discard one." Karon added two cards and tossed Guljeneraid into his grave.

Peyton sweated, finding himself nervous from that. "A useless Emergency Typhoon isn't gonna stop Plu-

"Shield trigger!" Karon held up.

"Wha- ANOTHER!" Peyton shouted.

"I never said I was done." Karon said annoyed. "Terror Pit, destroy Pluto!"

The glimmering shards suddenly turned black and surrounded Pluto wrapping it tightly until the mechanical beast exploded, shaking the whole airship.

Peyton stood shocked and appalled. There was no chance that this was the same kid from before. The one who broke down before him as he took every bit of dignity he had out of him. There was no way it was him.

"How…" Peyton's anger began to boil. "How did you know that IT WAS A TRIGGER!"

"A bluff…" Karon said in his calm and cool demeanor.

"A bluff…? You destroyed… Pluto out of dumb luck?" Peyton pieced together.

"Did I?" he looked at Peyton's grave and saw the four creatures sitting.

"Guess I did." He smirked.

"Why you little…"

"Guess it's my turn then." Karon drew his next card. After setting it he tapped all six.

"I summon two more Maxvals." He said confidently.

The twin blockers materialized next to the other creatures.

"Melnia, Break his shield Ike!"

Melnia shot over and broke a third shield, ending Karon's turn.

Peyton collected the shield, seeing it as Drazalk, something that wouldn't help him now.

He drew and threw Drazalk in mana, and summoned two Endbringer Dragoons, ending his turn.

Karon drew and set the card in mana. "I summon Olgate, Nightmare General."

The twin Maxvals each used their powers as the substitutes for the two mana crystals as a Navy and red Shadow Command materialized, having the body of a warrior, having eight arms each wielding a sword. It's bottom half the head of a giant monster, spiked tentacles extending from the sides it holding a large sword as well in its mouth. The creature flapped its giant bat wings as it rested alongside with the other creatures as Peyton's eyes widened at the sight.

"I destroy Melnia, with Olgate's effect. In return, two of your creatures are destroyed as well."

Peyton's creatures were sucked in by Olgate's monstrous bottom half with Melnia taking the trio of creatures along.

"That's not possible…" Peyton said.

"It gets better." Karon said. "Gravity Zero!"

"What?"

"Since you have six creatures in your graveyard, I can summon Dark Jios, Dark Dragon Lord from my hand."

Peyton looked on and turned to his grave. The two Endbringers, The two Pierrs, Vines and Pluto… that was six creatures…

Dark Jios materialized next alongside the other creatures as the trio of Shadow Command and the two Maxvals stared down Peyton.

"Scared yet?" Karon said, making Peyton step back in fear.

* * *

><p>"Karon…" Jamie said noticing the change C.J. was talking about.<p>

"Karon's ridiculously powerful…" C.J. said. "I mean, Pluto's destroyed and all. But this…"

"It's Overkill…" Dylan said. "Reapers like to toy with their prey; Karon's obviously the 'King of the Reapers.' Pay attention C.J.; this is first hand at what an A-Rank duelist is capable of when they're pushed to their limit."

* * *

><p>"You get three tries to come back." Karon said in a serious tone.<p>

"Don't mock me…" Peyton drew and summoned Silent Dragoon.

Karon drew and tapped his mana. "Awaken, Emperor of Darkness: Emperor Ballom, Lord of Darkness!"  
>He set the card on top of Vashuna as the creature withdrew his swords and began to float into the air. He took the crystal in hand and evolved into a new version of Ballom. It was smaller compared to the Original, and was silver and red. This smaller and thinner Ballom had a second body which extended from his back and made the wings for it. Its silver wings were provided by the smaller silver Ballom, which provided its remaining six arms. Emperor Ballom howled as C.J. was amazed, seeing it for the first time.<p>

"Emperor Ballom…" Peyton said, taking another step back.

"Two turns left." Karon said crossing his arms.

Peyton's anger continues to go up as he drew. "If only I drew jenny one turn ago…!" he summoned the creature as jenny materialized.

"Silent Dragoon, break his shield!" Peyton said as he reached out. Silent dragoon leaped forward and slashed the shield, then realizing the torrent of water that swished passed him, taking Jenny back. Silent dragoon looked, seeing Aqua Surfer giving him the peace sign.

"Shield Trigger: Aqua Surfer." Karon said. He let out a yawn. "After this it's your last shot."

He drew and flipped the card over. "Jios, Evolve into Ballom, Master of Death."

Ballom materialized next to his younger counterpart as Peyton, began to shake in fear. He never in his life felt this way before. He felt pushed into a corner, with no way out, the Balloms blocking his way. His anger and frustration skyrocketing, June's condition was fueling his hate towards the duelists who did that to her. He wanted to kill them all. He wanted to make them all suffer the same way she was. And the card that he drew next would determine that.

He moved forward and drew his card. "Drazalk…"

Silent dragoon evolved into Drazalk and unleashed its beam.

"Meteorburn!"

Drazalk turned its beam onto Maxval as it dispersed into electricity.

Peyton regained his composure, assured of his victory at that very moment.

"I can't believe I let a punk like you scare me like that. How pathetic…"

"Maxval block!"

"Sorry, But Maxval's destroyed…"

"Look again."

Peyton looked and realized it, utterly shocked. "The second Maxval!"

The second Maxval moved in the way and blocked the final attack from occurring.

The Balloms saw Peyton and readied their attack.

"That's three tries. Ballom, Break his last two shields!"

Ballom clapped his hands together and unleashed the power on them, shattering.

Peyton looked and to his dismay, not a terror pit. Critical blades… two of them.

"And just so we get this straight." Karon said before tapping Emperor Ballom. "It was ARC that mortally wounded that girl. We're here to save her life. We owe her ours, so we're returning the favor. And if you care that much about her, you'll help us find her help. If not, Emperor Ballom will turn you into dust…"

Peyton looked at Karon and then turned to the trio to the side who nodded with honesty. Peyton dropped to his knees and started to cry out of the guilt. Emperor Ballom and the others disappeared from the room as Karon collected the cards from his deck. He walked over and held his hand out to Peyton who looked up.

"Get up, a reaper stands above all else." Karon told him.

Peyton nodded and grabbed his hand. He reached into his pocket and gave him the Tsunami Catastrophe gear as promised.

"You had it this whole time?" Karon asked.

Peyton nodded. "Something's going on; it's hard to trust our leader when he doesn't trust us as far as he can throw us."

Karon slid the gear in his pocket, satisfied that he got it back.

"The medical bay is on the East Wing, second floor. We're in the center of the base on the third.

"You got that Jake? Head east." C.J. said in his case. "Head down stairs the second you see a staircase and go eastward."

"_Guys… I need help."_ Jake said on the other side.

* * *

><p>In front of him, he took steps back, staring down the agents who were getting ready to shoot him.<p>

"Why now of all times?" he said frustrated. "Come on June, don't die on me… not after we came this far.

"STAND DOWN!" Vanessa's voice suddenly announced.

She and her brothers walked up behind Jake as they stopped.

"We'll take it from here, go and report to Master Ryuusei that we found the intruder." Marcus told them.

"Yes sir!" they saluted. They stormed off to report.

Once they were out of sight, Marcus walked over and took June off of Jake's back, and Mike moved in to catch Jake's weakened body.

"We need to get both of them checked out." Mike said.

"Why are you helping me?" Jake asked. "You should be more worried about her."

"You saved her life by bringing her here." Marcus told him. "And you also saved her when Central City came crashing down. Like it or not, we owe you big time."

"But she's dying because of me…"

"Doesn't matter; She repaid her debts to you. Now we need to repay ours for saving her." Vanessa said. She walked closer to Jake and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for protecting her."

Jake felt a bit odd considering that the enemy was showing affection for his heroic deeds, but thinking it over, he came to realize that it was the same group of teens that June calls her family. And Jake promised that he was going to get them all out of this. So with that said, he let them lead him to the medical bay to get checked out.

* * *

><p>Master Ryuusei sighed heavily, watching his children help the enemy in navigating through the base. All five of his core Supernovas was defeated, and now all of the gears were gone; he was literally back to square one, if not farther considering that he's short five phoenixes.<p>

"Kids…" she snarled. He stood up from his throne and reached into his pocket, sliding on a black dueling glove. It sparked red, blue and purple lightning.

"They're grounded… Permanently." He growled, his Kaijudo Energy exploding and frying his throne. He walked down from his throne and left the room.

* * *

><p>"Jake's got June into the medical bay; she's going to be just fine." Dylan said, reading the text on his cellphone. "He'll meet up with us soon."<p>

"Awesome. So where do we head from here?" C.J. wondered.

"_Team… KG… Hear… Repeat… Can… Me…" _A static-like voice started to speak through their communicators.

"That sounded like…" Jamie began to say.

"Dr. Inoue!" C.J. confirmed. "Doc, this is C.J."

_"C.J….?"_ His voice became clearer._ "Thank goodness it works!" he said happily. "We've been trying for days to come into contact with you!"_

"We're all fine; just don't know how to get home."

_"We have a way back over here. Listen; remember that portal tech that we were developing?"_ He asked.

"Yeah what about it…?"

_"We perfected it and we're going to open a portal that will lead you back onto earth. The destination where it'll open is the central battle field located north of your location."_

"A Battle field? Why there?"

_"It's the closest point that we could get to that would ensure a clean transfer. There's not a lot of time, the portal will only stay open for five minutes. Let us know when you get there, understood?"_

"Right, we're on it." C.J. cut the communication from there. "You heard the doctor, let's move!"

The group ran towards the specified area afterward. As they were running, Dylan stopped for a second.

"Dylan, why'd you stop?" Jamie turned and asked.

"Something's not right… I'll be back." He turned and ran and turned a corner.

"Dylan!" C.J. called out.

"I'll follow him; you and Karon just get down there." Jamie told him as she followed.

C.J. sucked his teeth and didn't argue as they kept running.

* * *

><p>Once the trio made it to the Battle Field, Peyton began to explain how this is the area where the agents had their promotion exams and other events. However they weren't alone…<p>

"_Welcome… Kaijudo Generation…"_ Ryuusei's voice echoed throughout the room.

The group looked back and forth, looking for the source of the voice.

"Who was that?" C.J. asked.

"Master Ryuusei…" Peyton uttered, Karon sensing the fear in his voice.

_"I must say… you five have exceeded my expectations. Not only have you destroyed five of my Supernova Creatures… but you've also defeated ARC as well. I must say that I'm impressed…_

He began to walk towards them, his footsteps getting louder until he appeared in front of them.

"However if there's one thing that I find more annoying than that damn Death Phoenix coming across me and the Gears, it's a bunch of brats coming across me and the Gears…"

"So that's him?" Karon asked.

"Master Ryuusei…"

"Peyton… Son, you really disappointed me. I expected you to defeat him and get the gears for me…" he began to walk around the room.

"Instead, you lost Pluto, and the only Gear that we had… I hope you have a way to make up for it…"

"I have a really bad feeling about this guy." C.J. whispered to Karon.

"Keep your guard up."

"But if you don't, don't worry about it..." He shrugged his shoulder. "Things happen. I'll take care of them; and I'll take you out while I'm at it."

Peyton felt the sense of death creep down his spine so fast that he was mortified just by the sound of his voice. Ryuusei was dead serious by his words, and just the thought of dying at that point was inevitable.

"That's not happening." C.J. stepped forward. "We came here on a mission and we're leaving this world alive!"

Ryuusei admired C.J.'s determination and began to laugh hysterically. "You're out of your league…"

"We'll just see about that!" C.J. grabbed his deck and his hand sparked up violently.

"A Duel…? Well now, this should be interesting."

"Don't do it, he'll kill you if you duel him!" Peyton stepped in.

C.J. turned and smirked. "Apparently you haven't heard about me. I'm the Hero; I always pull a miracle…"

"For your sake… I hope you do; we're all screwed if you don't." Peyton said.

C.J. and Ryuusei walked over to the rising K-Terminals as the shields materialized.

"DUEL START!" They called out, signifying the start of the final battle between the two factions…

[END]


	19. The Inferno Armor

Chapter 19: The Inferno Armor

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai, 2002]<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>May 13th, 2002… It's been nearly two years since we four found ourselves in this magical world we came to know as the Kaijin no Sekai. This world is filled with magnificent sentient beings from different civilizations. The Dragons of the Fire Civilization, to the Aquatic people of the Water, The Beast men of Nature, to the Mutants and monsters of the Darkness; Even the Aerial beings of Light. Kengo, Yuuki, Gentaro and I have got to interact and to befriend each and every one of these different beings. Honestly, if I could stay in this world, I would."<em>

"Hey Shotaro-kun…!" Yuuki called from under him.

Shotaro took his attention from his journal and looked down from the treetop at the young woman.

"What's up?" he answered.

"Have you seen Gentaro?" She asked. "He was supposed to get fire wood for dinner tonight, but he hasn't come back."

Shotaro sighed. "Honestly, this is the third time he's done this. I thought you learned to not send him on errands since he gets sidetracked."

Yuuki gave him a dirty look. "Just go find him you idiot."

Shotaro sighed. "Yes ma'am. Yo Kengo, wanna go find Gentaro?"

"Again…?" He asked back. "I thought Yuuki was gonna stop sending him for fire wood."

"Both of you GO!" She pointed in the direction where Gentaro went, fed up with the both of them."

"Ok Ok, we're going. Jeez, you must miss him really bad don't you?" Shotaro joked.

Yuuki's face turned red as she scrambled for a rock to throw at him.

Shotaro and Kengo took that as a chance to run before she killed them both.

The snow faeries hiding around watched them and giggled.

"Can't stand them…" Yuuki pouted. "Of all the people at JAXA, why did I get stuck with them?"

* * *

><p>A while later, Kengo and Shotaro looked all over, not finding sight of Gentaro. Before they knew it, they were approaching the border of the Darkness Civilization.<p>

"Think we went too far?" Kengo asked.

"Might've... You don't think Gentaro would've gone this far do you?"

Out of nowhere an ear piercing scream shot throughout the air, sounding like a creature in immense pain. It scared them both still as they were terrified to find out where it came from.

"Was that…?" Kengo tried to speak.

"Gentaro…?" Shotaro continued, feeling his spine grow colder. He shook out of his trance and turned to his companion. "We gotta move!"

Kengo likewise did the same as the two raced over into the Darkness civilization.

Running across the dirt floor underneath them, they stop coming up to a large crater. They kneel down to get a better look, seeing a Humanoid-like entity and a giant shadow figure across from them.

"There's no way that's a Dark Lord…" Shotaro confirmed.

"Look closer…" Kengo pointed.

Shotaro took a closer look and realized that it was Gentaro. His eyes a deep red color with a sadistic smile on his face as he stared at his palms, protruding black Kaijudo energy. The Giant shadow being spoke to him, to which he nodded in agreement. He turned around, smiling at his two friends…

"_Kill them…"_ The entity spoke in a deep monstrous voice.

"As you wish, Master Thanatos…" Gentaro smiled…

* * *

><p><em>[Present Time]<em>

* * *

><p>"Dylan, wait up!" Jamie called out as she sidestepped the beaten agents that were scattered across the floors thanks to the water duelist.<p>

"Catch up then!" Dylan shot back. "I didn't ask you to follow me."

Jamie took offense to that, and took his advice. She sped up and grabbed his sweater collar, causing him to fly back and hit the floor.

"Ow…" He rubbed his lower back feeling the bone ache from the impact of the metal floor.

"Tag, you're it;" Jamie smiled sarcastically. "Now then where are you running off to exactly?"

Dylan got up and pointed ahead. "I'll show you."

Jamie nodded as the two cut the corner nearby and stopped at the door which was three doors down on their left hand side.

"What's in here?"

Dylan cracked his knuckles and worked his 'hacking magic'. He unlocked the keypad and smiled in pleasure. "A computer!"

"That's what we ditched the others for? Dude, you can check the DCA leaderboards when we get home."

"No Princess Smart-aleck." Dylan told her. "Something's been bugging me for days and this seems like a good time as ever to finally confirm something."

They walked into the dark office setting with the door sliding shut behind them. Dylan didn't hesitate to hop onto the computer as Jamie walked around and opened the desk, a small brown Journal inside of it. She opened it and began to skim through the pages.

"What were you wondering about?"

"Found it." He turned the screen over to Jamie who read the text on the screen.

"Tokyo Family killed in House fire, young boy survives; what about it?"

"Check the date on the paper." Dylan pointed.

Jamie looked closer and realized it. "June 2008… That's when Jason and Riley encountered Bolmeteus Titanium Dragon and recruited Shinji on their team."

"Realized it yet?" Dylan asked. "Think back to what Dr. Inoue told us when we first met him…"

* * *

><p><em>Shotaro cleared his throat. "Right; my name is Dr. Shotaro Inoue."<em>

_"Shotaro Inoue?" Jake repeated._

_"The astronaut who was a part of the '2000 Black Hole' incident…" Karon clarified._

_Shotaro nodded. "I was able to get in touch with my son Shinji, who told me about what you guys have done concerning incidents with the Creature World."_

* * *

><p>"His son…" Jamie thought over.<p>

"Shinji's dad is long dead." Dylan said. "On top of that, we haven't heard a single word from any of the Kaijudo Monarchs, let alone the DCA. Chances are that aside from Mr. Roman, they don't know the situation we're in."

"Well we have been missing for four days." Jamie mentioned. "They could be searching for us as we speak."

"That's possible." Dylan nodded. "But if all of this is true…"

"Then who is Dr. Inoue?" Jamie asked.

"What's that in your hand…?" Dylan noticed.

"A journal…" She replied. She opened it and was getting ready to read it.

"It's in Japanese, I can't read it." Jamie told him.

"Well that doesn't help. Guess we gotta get someone to read it when we get back to the others."

Jamie nodded and then it occurred to her. "Speaking of getting back, why does that portal technology have to be used inside the ship? I mean, if it's perfected and all can't they use it outside the ship?"

Dylan thought about that and nodded in agreement. "This really doesn't add up."

Jamie skimmed through the book some more coming up to the last page, realizing that it's translated into English.

"Dylan, look at this!" She motioned him to take a look. "The handwriting's different than the Japanese writing."

Dylan and Jamie read the page and came to a revelation that answered their questions about what they discovered.

"We need to get the others out of here…" Jamie said as she slammed the book shut.

"I'll get Jake; you get to C.J. and Karon!" Dylan ordered. The two ran outside and bolted in opposite directions.

* * *

><p>"I summon Cocco Lupia!" C.J. called out as he tapped his three mana, causing Cocco Lupia to materialize behind him.<p>

"Paconeco, break his shield ike!" C.J. tapped the dream ruler as it waved its staff and shattered one of Ryuusei's shields. The shield flew back as the man smirked. He held his hand up as the card regenerated.

"Shield Trigger: Phantom Lion's Flame, I destroy Cocco Lupia."

The Shield shards turned red and shot a flame based-lion at the fire bird taking it out easily. C.J. snickered as Ryuusei drew his next card.

Setting it in mana, he tapped all three. "I summon Maxval, Electric Shadow; and I also attack Paconeco with Harisenmon, the Shadow Warrior, Ike."

Maxval materialized with its creepy reptilian smile as the other shadow warrior bashed the small Dreammate with its spiked fists.

C.J. was forced to part with Paconeco as he sent it to the grave. He drew his next card and set another to mana.

"I generate Fire Blades and end my turn." C.J. said.

Ryuusei crossed his arms and smirked. "It's amazing how you were able to give the Death Phoenix trouble. It seems that he was weaker than I anticipated…" he drew and set mana. "I summon Meteor Flash Dragoon."

A red and white Tyranoid with blades extending from its arms materialized into the battle zone.

"Meteor Flash has speed attacker; break his shield!"

Meteor flash gave a slight nod and disappeared. It reappeared in it's position as one of C.J.'s shields sliced in half. It returned to his hand.

"No trigger." He said disappointed.

"Harisenmon, break his shield!"

The shadow warrior nodded and leapt into the air, waving its arms, sending the spikes into one of C.J.'s shields, marking the second one broken; Still, no trigger.

* * *

><p>"C.J.'s getting his words handed to him." Karon noted.<p>

"Trust me; it's only going to get worse from here on. Master Ryuusei's only toying with him." Peyton replied regrettably.

* * *

><p>Ryuusei smirked at C.J.'s struggle to come up with a strategy to bounce back. He drew his next card and set it in mana.<p>

"I summon Terradragon Regarion!" C.J. called out as Regarion materialized behind him. It wasn't enough, but at the same time, it proved that he wasn't backing down, despite being overpowered currently.

Ryuusei looked at the big earth dragon and just sighed. "Truly pathetic." He drew and set the card in mana. "I cast Dimensional Thunder Ball; I can either destroy one of your cost 4 Rainbow Civilization creatures, or one of your Non-rainbow creatures with a cost of 6 or less."

C.J.'s eyes widened as he saw the thunder ball crash into Regarion, wiping him out like a dinosaur to a meteor.

"I end my turn." Ryuusei said, not wanting to attack.

C.J. shook off his shock and drew. _"I need to come back…" _He looked at his drawn card and smiled. "Perfect!"

* * *

><p>"What did he draw?" Peyton looked on.<p>

* * *

><p>"I summon Leoldo, the Shield King!" He held the card in front of him as Leoldo materialized. The White Lion slammed his staff on the ground causing its Thrilling Three ability to activate.<p>

Ryuusei peeked over his sunglasses, surprised that C.J. pulled that card at this moment.

From the top of the deck: Terradragon Geographis, Byakko, the Innocent Blade and a second Leoldo appeared, the ladder two glowing.

"With the two Dreammates that appeared, you reveal two of your shields, if they happen to have 'Shield Trigger' then they're destroyed!"

C.J. pointed to the two shields as they revealed themselves. One was Terror pit, while the other was Energy Stream. Terror Pit was destroyed, making it both an even three between them.

"Looks like C.J. might have a shot after all." Karon said with confidence.

"Interesting move you made." Ryuusei complimented. "It seems that there's more to you than I anticipated…"

C.J. smirked, with his new found confidence. "I'm just full of surprises…"

* * *

><p>In the infirmary, June woke up to the bright faces of her Family, plus Jake filling the role of Peyton for the time being. Vanessa squeezed her little sister, causing June to feel the subsiding pain all over, forcing her to pull her hysterical older sister off.<p>

"Ow! My god, I don't think this is what they meant by 'Love hurts'. June said, laying back down waiting for the pain to go away.

"Looks like you pulled through." Mike said with a smirk on his face.

"Knew you'd make it back to us;" Marcus added.

June smiled and nodded. "I couldn't have done it without Jake though."

Jake turned and blushed slightly. "It was nothing. Just call it even for now."

June nodded. "Deal;"

Dylan finally found the room and busted in, breathing heavily. "Jake… Something's up with… he looked around and saw the other NOVA members gathered around.

"Am I interrupting something…?"

"Well we were all kinda having a moment here…" Mike scoffed.

"My bad," He apologized. "But dude, we need to get back to C.J. and the others and we need to bolt back home."

"Why what's going on?"

"Jamie and I did some snooping and we found something big. It explains everything that's happened up until this point and the reason why we need to get back home a.s.a.p."

"Well what about them? We can't just leave them here." Jake noted, reminding him of their promise.

"Well then take them with us, hurry up; we don't have any time to waste." Dylan told him, followed by him running out of the room.

Jake and the other NOVA members sat for a few seconds before Jake spoke up.

"So…"

"Let's follow him." June said. "If anything we might get some idea as to what exactly is going on."

"Can you walk?" Jake asked her.

June crept out of bed and grabbed her Jacket. "Not as fast as you giving me a piggyback ride." She smiled at Jake with a grin that only a kid would make.

Jake rolled his eyes and got up, kneeling down. June walked over and hopped onto his back.

"Now, let's go!" June pointed forward.

At this moment, Jake was starting to appreciate the fact that he went to the Gym this past summer to build his body strength. Had he known that he'd be a Fourteen Year Old's horse for a day, he would've worked harder instead of sitting on rooftops looking at clouds.

Jake started to run with the remaining three NOVA members following them.

* * *

><p>Another turn passed in C.J.'s and Ryuusei's duel as Ryuusei managed to summon a second Maxval and ending his turn again not attacking. Above all else, he was dead set on seeing what this particular seventeen year old could do that could take out two of the biggest threats in the Kaijin no Sekai, especially when pushed to his limits.<p>

C.J. drew and set mana. "I summon Terradragon Regarion and end my turn."

Regarion materialized into the Battle Zone as Ryuusei drew his next card, unimpressed by it.

He looked at the card and turned back at C.J. "I'm done toying with you. It seems that you aren't as great as I expected…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" C.J. snarled in reply.

"Vortex Evolution!" Ryuusei tapped five mana and slid Harisenmon and Meteor Flash on top of one another.

"I summon Night Screamer, the Battle Comet!"

The two creatures turned into energy orbs and fused together, reforming into a red and lavender Four Headed Phoenix, with Serpent heads extending from its body, each with a distinct armor covering them. The monster roared to announce its arrival as the three were awestruck at the Phoenix.

"Night Screamer… Double Break!" Ryuusei ordered causing the phoenix to send two of its heads to break the shields.

"When Night Screamer attacks, unless you have a Phoenix in the Battle Zone, you're forced to destroy one of your untapped creatures.

C.J. didn't like the sound of that. "I destroy Leoldo."

The third serpent head wrapped around Leoldo, crushing it into a Mana Crystal, to which it ate; the three heads returned to the main body as C.J. stared at his hand.

"I'm down to one shield; and he has two blockers…" C.J. looked at his hand and prayed for a miracle to come from that top card of his deck.

"Next turn it's over…" Ryuusei said.

"You're right about that." C.J. said, his hand sparking. He set mana and tapped two. "I summon Paconeco, and Vortex Evolution!"

Paconeco materialized, holding with it, two Evo Crystals.

"I summon, Gaia, the Ground Comet!"

Paconeco hopped onto Regarion as the two vortex evolved into the Phoenix.

"Gaia, attack Night Screamer!"

Gaia nodded and charged Night screamer, who's serpent heads charged forward.

"Maxval blocks."

Maxval slid in Gaia's way blocking the force of the attack. The shockwave of the impact came in contact with one of Ryuusei's shields, shattering it.

"When Gaia is blocked, he breaks a shield." C.J. said. "So even if you do block my attack, I can still cause some damage to you."

Ryuusei collected the shield shards and added it to his hand. "Interesting…" Ryuusei drew and set mana. "Unfortunately, like I said; the duel would end this turn."

Ryuusei tapped five of his mana and held a tri-civilization spell in his hand.

"I cast Enforced Gaia Prison."

C.J.'s eyes widened. "A spell with three civilizations…?"

The floor suddenly froze from under Gaia as the building ice captured him.

"I return one of your creatures to your hand." Ryuusei said as the card glowed a blue color.

Gaia's card bounced back into C.J.'s hand, along with Regarion and Paconeco.

"Then you discard a card randomly from it." He continued, now the card glowing with a purple aura.

C.J. in turn shuffled his hand and send the top card to the grave.

"Sorry gaia." C.J. said. "No matter, with Fire Blades I can can give my creature speed attacker and finish this duel.

"Finally it's third ability: If the discarded card has the same name as the returned creature, then I destroy one of your shields."

C.J. froze from those words. "Then that means…"

"That your last shield is destroyed."

The shield in front of C.J. broke into pieces as it dropped into the grave.

Super Dragon Machine Dolzark glimmered in the light of the auditorium as C.J. was devastated at the sight of his trademark miracle comebacks, being stripped so easily.

"As I said; you were no match for me from the start; Pay with your life… Night Screamer, Todomeda!"

Night Screamer's heads all lined up and fired one final round at C.J.

* * *

><p>Jake and the others made it to the room, just to see the body of the seventeen year old hurdle off the stage and into the wood floor that they were standing on.<p>

"C.J.!" Everyone heard Jamie's voice as the devastated crowd of teens turned to see the emotionally struck fire duelist watch as her Friend was shot into the air.

Tears flowing down her face she ran as fast as she could, her heart beating nonstop, her nerves skyrocketing, images flooding through her mind of the inevitable.

"_Please don't be dead, Please don't be dead, Please don't die on me you idiot!"_

Jamie nearly slid on her knees towards C.J. as she picked him up. his head bleeding from the impact and his arm scratched and his glove shredded revealing a bruised hand and fore arm."

"C.J., C.J. wake up, come on, please wake up!" She shook him. "Come on, this shouldn't be enough to take you out! I know you better than anyone, This isn't enough to make you give up so stop acting like it!"

C.J. cracked his eyes and tried to lift himself up. "Hey there…"He clutched his head, feeling the sharp migraine moving in. "I'm hurting so much right now."

"You idiot…!" Jamie scolded. "What were you thinking?"

C.J. smirked. "I wasn't; like you said, you know me better than anyone, you should've known I'd so something stupid."

Jamie didn't know how to reply to that because she was getting annoyed by that statement. "Just shut up."

C.J. smirked. "Nah, I'm gonna milk this out a little longer. You and niceness together are quite a treat."

Jamie figured that she had enough of the delusional C.J. and dropped him back to the ground. She walked over to the group as C.J. picked himself up.

"My my… So my children…" Ryuusei crossed his arms. "I see that you've made your decision, have you?"

The five members realized that they were going up against Ryuusei, the man who has shown them nothing but hardship the last few months; they had it dead set in their minds Jake's promise and they definitely owed a debt to KG. But at the same time, they were torn, by the fact that despite all of that, it was the same man who brought them together as a real family, the one who promised a world for their own enjoyment.

"I take your silence as a yes." Ryuusei sighed. "Very well… Let's get started with the extermination process."

He pulled three cross gears from his pocket: The Power Mask, Slayer Scythe and Shadow Protector, as his hand sparked Black Lighting.

"Cross Over…"

The cards sparked violently as the cards shimmered, transforming his person.

His body was covered in the Silver and black armor, radiating black Kaijudo Energy, and his Head was covered in the Power Mask Gear, which turned silver like the armor. The slayer scythe's blade turned from purple to black as the reptilian-like face became as a skeleton, the eyes of the scythe turning red and jagged.

The NOVA members knew exactly what this was. It was Ryuusei's form when he was ready to kill his enemies. They watched him over the years lay waste to hundreds of thousands of creatures, even the likes of Death Phoenix, barely survived this warrior of pure darkness; the creatures of the Kaijin no Sekai dubbed the armored warrior…"

"The Inferno Armor…" Marcus uttered terrified along with the others.

Ryuusei took a step forward and slammed his scythe on the ground, causing black flames to ignite along the blade.

"This is bad…" Mike said, equally freaked out.

"Get ready to see your Supernovas in the afterlife…" Ryuusei hissed in a dark, evil voice.

Just as we was about to unleash his power, a portal suddenly sprouted open, taking everyone by surprise.

"Everything's green-lit Doc." Dylan said with confidence.

"_Great, everyone, make your way into the portal, it'll take you straight to the JAXA HQ!"_ Dr. Inoue told them.

"You heard the doc, move it!" Dylan lead the group to the portal as Ryuusei watched them.

"As if I'd let you escape…" He held his hand out, Kaijudo energy building at the palm of his hand.

"Die…" he unleashed the power as one by one the teens leapt into the portal.

Jamie was the second to last one to go, but she turned around, hearing the sound of the blast behind her. Seeing it inch its way close, she froze, not able to move out the way.

"Like Hell we are!" C.J. swooped in and socked the blast upward into the balcony, causing some of the debris to crash down; the blast caught Ryuusei off guard as he flew back into the seats.

"Why you…" Ryuusei snarled.

"C.J…" Jamie looked on, seeing the cross gears on his person.

"Jamie… Go on, I'll be right behind you." He told her.

"What… You're not planning on staying her alone to take him on do you?"

C.J. didn't answer.

"Well?" she asked again.

"Jamie… I'm sorry but this is something I need to do."

"Since when is it your responsibility to play the hero?" she snapped.

"Well someone has to do it!" he snapped back. "Besides, what's the big deal, as long as you guys are safe, I can care less about what happens."

"So you're willing to throw away your life just to play hero?" Jamie asked.

"It's not a game… I'm fighting for your lives, why can't you see that I'm protecting you all? Why can't you just let me do this, please?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!" Jamie screamed at him. Her tears ran down her face. "I… I can't lose you. I don't want to, I refuse…"

"Jamie…"

"C.J., I…" Jamie's face was bright red, speechless by her sudden outburst. "You have done so much for us… No one asked you to be the hero; and yet you still risk your life for us without question. There's no reason why you should be doing this…

"But I-"

"But what…?" Jamie cut him off. "You're not special C.J., You're a human like the rest of us. We're all the same; every one of us can be a hero. So don't stand there and tell me that this is something that you have to do alone!"

C.J. nodded, feeling guilty all of the sudden.

"That's why you have a team supporting you. We are behind you every step of the way; we have been and always will be…"

"Jamie… I'm So-"

"Don't… Apologize;" she stopped him again. "Just promise me this…OK?"

She walked up to him and gently planted her lips onto his. Pulling away she wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear.

"No matter what happens, come back to me…" Jamie whispered.

"I promise…" C.J. nodded.

Jamie began to tear up again as she lets go and turns around.

"I love you…" She said to him sincerely.

She then with those words took a step into the portal.

* * *

><p>C.J. stared as he watched Jamie walk through, leaving him and Ryuusei in the room. C.J. looked at his deck case and read the time limit on the arc.<p>

"Three and a half minutes…" He said to himself. He turned and saw Ryuusei blow the debris from his person as he cracked his neck and stared at the teen.

"That's two more minutes than I need." C.J. cracked his knuckles and readied himself to charge forward.

Seconds later the two found themselves locking Gears together as they struggled to come out on top in their final battle…

[END]


	20. Ryuusei's Last Stand

Final Chapter: Ryuusei's Last Stand

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai, 2002]<em>

* * *

><p>The evil Gentaro ran towards his two companions with his crimson red eyes seeking blood. Shotaro and Kengo didn't hesitate to get up and make a break for it as the two ran for their lives.<p>

"What the hell was that?" Kengo demanded, wanting Shotaro to answer him.

"No clue, just keep running!" Shotaro countered.

Kengo didn't bother to argue with that answer as he agreed. Questions could wait until they were not being chased.

"_I'd be happy to answer that…"_ Gentaro's voice lingered through the air, making them both stop and look up.

Gentaro stood in the tree above with an evil smirk on his face, his hands still covered in black energy.

"Gentaro… what happened to you…?" Shotaro asked.

"Something amazing…" He smiled. "I've been chosen…"

"Chosen…? For what…?" Kengo asked.

"Soon Master Thanatos will be reborn in this world, and no one will be able to compare to his might. The Kaijin no Sekai will be his to control! And I've been chosen by him personally to see that happen!"

"He's gone insane…" Kengo said.

"No… He's really under the influence of that thing; whatever it was."

"You two are standing in my way… I'll have to kill you to assure myself that you won't stand in my Master's way…" Gentaro said.

"Gentaro snap out of it!" Shotaro yelled. "Fight that thing!"

"Why would I? It's given me immense strength, more so than I would've gotten on my own. This strength is more than enough to make this world our own. Don't you want that…? A world that we can call our own…? Face it; we'll never see Earth again! We're stuck here for the rest of our lives so let's make the most of it! Let's rule it!"

"You're willing to betray all of the friends we made just for selfish ambitions?" Shotaro yelled, angered by his statement.

Gentaro chuckled. "With the power of Master Thanatos… I am willing; and I intend to!" he jumped from the tree and lunged at Shotaro, his fist inflamed with black Kaijudo Energy…"

* * *

><p><em>[Earth; Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>Shotaro and the other workers stood in front of the giant circular-like machine that housed the portal in the center of the room. Two scientists stood side by side, pouring Kaijudo Energy into it as Mr. Roman, Tachibana and the three Kaijudo Monarchs, Jason, Riley and Shinji walked in. Shotaro turned around and smiled.<p>

"It's been a while Mr. Roman." Shotaro shook his hand.

"Likewise, Dr. Inoue…" He smiled in return.

Shotaro then turned to Shinji and the other two. "Same with you, Jason and Riley; How's things going with you two? Married yet?"

Jason and Riley were about to reply, until they realized what he asked. They both turned their heads away and blushed, not wanting to answer.

Shotaro and a few other chuckles were heard as he then turned to Shinji. "Hey son, how are things?"

Shinji nodded. "Can't complain; Work's work."

Shotaro nodded as well. "I expected you say that."

The machine suddenly made a series of noises as the first pair made it through the portal: Dylan and Mike flew out first, followed by Marcus, Vanessa, Karon, Peyton, Jake and June, who's still on his back, and finally Jamie, who was still in tears.

The scientist all clapped in amazement that their hard work was finally paid off by the results.

"I can't believe that worked…" Shotaro said, a little speechless. He then realized it. "Only nine…?"

"Where's C.J.?" Jason asked, having a bad feeling about it.

Once C.J.'s name hit Jamie's ears, she ran towards her brother and cried her eyes out.

"C.J. stayed behind to fight Ryuusei…" Jake said.

"Does he not realize that it's going to close completely in a few minutes?" Shotaro asked. "When I said Five minutes, I really meant it! This machine can only work once!"

Everyone's expressions turned sour when they heard that.

"So that means…" Dylan began to say. He turned to the open portal that started to collapse bit by bit. "If he doesn't get out before times up…"

"Then he'll be trapped forever…" Shotaro told him.

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai, Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>C.J. skidded back and dashed to his left, dodging the barrage of blasts Ryuusei sent his way.<p>

"Time's running out boy; you can't dodge my attacks forever…" Ryuusei taunted as he continued to trace C.J.'s path throughout, destroying objects in his way.

"Fine then, then I'll stop running!" C.J. stopped short and turned, using the Fire Blades to blast him forward. He sent a punch towards Ryuusei who blocked it with his scythe, followed by a kick and a series of maneuvers, each and every one blocked by the Armor-wearing warrior.

"Pathetic…" Ryuusei grabbed C.J.'s neck and picked him up. Bringing him closer, C.J. could feel the cold stare through Ryuusei's helmet as the monster looked at him with his deep red eyes.

"Just… Who are you…?" C.J. tried to speak.

Ryuusei chuckled evilly and tightened his grip, making C.J. gasp in pain.

"The man who will kill you…" He then tossed C.J. aside and into the wall, walking closer to him.

C.J. coughed hard, feeling the wind knocked out of him, in addition to regaining feeling in his throat.

"It's quite a shame. You destroyed Neo Bolshack Dragon, and defeated the Death Phoenix; you also defeated Mars and lead a group of teenagers to not only destroy my Skyterror Army, but successfully invade my base. He knelt down and picked C.J. up by his baseball cap, which was burned by the barrage of blasts."

"The real question is: who are you?" Ryuusei asked.

The weak C.J. smirked. "You… didn't know…? I'm the hero…"

Ryuusei raised an eyebrow, not expecting a reply like that. "So does that make me the villain then?"

C.J. didn't reply, finding himself losing focus.

"Well then…" Ryuusei dropped C.J.'s head back on the ground as he stood up.

"I guess it's only fair then that I play a proper villain and destroy the hero…" he raised his scythe in the air and began to spin it.

"No one who defied me has survived this attack…" Ryuusei explained. His scythe began to ignite black flames as it continued to spin.

C.J.'s eyes looked onto the arc as the timer read the remaining time left on it. A tear dripped from eye, mixing with the blood running from his head.

"Jamie…" he whispered to himself. "I should've told you…"

5…4…3…2…

"I'm bad at keeping promises…

1…0!

"Time's up!" Ryuusei announced as he sent the flaming weapon on him.

C.J. closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate…

The sound of metal hitting against each other was heard, shocking the two of them in the room…

* * *

><p><em>[Earth; Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>The portal closed on the other side, the people in the room realizing that the mission, although going great, utterly failed. C.J. was stuck in the Kaijin no Sekai. And at the moment, there was nothing getting him out of it.<p>

Jamie dropped to her knees in disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes. C.J. broke his promise to her. He didn't come back like he said he was.

Shotaro walked over to Jamie and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss…"

Jamie glared and smacked his hand away. "Like hell you are!" Jamie snarled, fueled by her emotions. "Turn it back on!"

"I can't, like I said, the machine-

"_Like I said…_" Jamie snarled, her voice showing her rising anger; "Turn the damn thing back on and get him back!"

"Jamie, calm down!" Jason stepped in.

"Stay out of it!" She snapped at her brother. Her attention turned back to Shotaro, who was speechless.

"You knew this would happen; didn't you?" She glared.

"No I didn't!" Shotaro countered. "I didn't realize that C.J. would be foolish enough to stay behind, considering the situation we were in."

"You're lying! You had all of this planned from the start!"

Shotaro was taken aback and then his demeanor slowly began to change.

"What are you implying…" he asked.

"You're related to NOVA somehow." Jamie stated.

The group all became shocked, hearing those words, staring at the two making eye contact.

"Now 'young lady'…" Mr. Roman stepped in. "That's a serious accusation; one that involves the DCA as well. You better have proof to back that up."

"I do." Jamie nodded. "Why did you activate the portal tech in the NOVA Airship, while having full knowledge that not only you could've used it in the same area outside the ship? You knew by doing so you had the huge risk of allowing Soldiers and creatures to pass through."

"Because if I used it outside you all would have to jump into a lava pit; by the time I came into contact with you all, the ship was flying over the Fire Civilization. There was no flat surface for me to activate it other than inside. In addition to that with the DCA officials on their way here, if there was a security breach, the Kaijudo Monarchs would've defended the area." Shotaro countered.

"Shinji's father was killed in a Hybrid attack back in 2008. How can you claim to be his father when he's long gone?"

"My wife and I divorced a year before; once I heard about it, I took full custody of Shinji." He countered again. "Eighteen more questions to go."

Jamie grunted in anger, the thought of punching him square in the jaw just soothing her emotions over.

"Miss Martin, I think that's enough accusations for now…" Mr. Roman said in a stern voice. "As a well-known A-Rank, you have a reputation to uphold; you're a duelist, not a detective."

Jamie looked at the president of the DCA and nodded. "I'm sorry. But I have one more question for him; if it's alright with you sir…"

Mr. Roman looked at the offended Shotaro, who in turn nodded. "If it'll satisfy her..."

"Go on."

Jamie took her bag off and opened it. "When Dylan and I were snooping around, we found this." She pulled out the journal.

Shotaro's eyes widened at the sight of the little brown book. "Where did you…"

"In one of the offices of the ship we found it. All but one page at the end of it is written in Japanese. Seeing at the time, his fellows couldn't read English well, they would have a hard time understanding what he wrote.

Tachibana looked on to Shotaro. "From what I recall, you didn't learn English until you returned back here, Sho-Kun."

Shotaro glared. "I told you to stop calling me that…"

"It was Gentaro Kurosaki's farewell message to whoever found the journal." Jamie revealed.

"Read it out loud please…" Mr. Roman told her.

Vanessa looked around, realizing someone was missing. "Hey guys, where's Marcus…?"

Jake and the others looked.

"You don't think that he…" June started to say as she looked at the ring-shaped device…

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai; Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>C.J. opened his eyes, not feeling the intended pain from the scythe that Ryuusei sent in his direction.<p>

"What are you doing here…?" Ryuusei snarled.

"Oh you know, saving him." Marcus said, locking Ryuusei's scythe with twin dagger-like Cross Gears.

Marcus kicked the warrior back and used his own fire blades to charge forward, slashing away at Ryuusei. Said warrior was then sent across the open room, heavily damaged by the unexpected assault.

"Marcus…?" C.J. looked up. "Why… are you here?"

"Had a career change;" Marcus said, helping him up.

"A career change…?" C.J. looked at him oddly.

"We're not enemies anymore. So, with that said, I can't be the villain. I'll settle for Anti-hero, or Ally, whatever floats your boat."

"How about Rival…?" C.J. turned to him.

Marcus looked on and smirked.

"Can't be a Hero without a rival, now can I?"

"Despite getting beaten to a bloody pulp, you still maintain that sense of humor. Wow that's cliché." He then hands C.J. the two blades.

"What are these?" C.J. asked.

"They're a special Cross Gear: Flame Swords. The Right handed blade's Pierce, and the left, Accel."

"They have names?" C.J. asked.

Marcus smirked. "Yeah, they're special to me. I want you to take good care of them."

C.J. nodded, and then suddenly felt a surge of energy go through him. The armor of the flame blades began to travel up his legs, and the same with the armor of the emerald claws. The trio of gears began to glow as the blades began to glow green.

"What is this…?" C.J. asked himself. "I just felt a huge amount of Kaijudo Energy rush into me."

Ryuusei heard C.J. as he got up and his eyes widened. "It can't be…" he looked and saw the Gears covered his arms and legs.

"His level of Kaijudo Energy couldn't have possibility triggered it…"

"Amazing… It's incomplete but…"

"Marcus, what's going on?"

"You triggered a part of it. You're not doing it purposely; your body is forcing a Zenith Cross Over."

"A Zenith… Cross Over?"

Marcus pointed to Ryuusei. "Like how he is. If you use a combination of three or more Cross gears that match the signature of your Kaijudo Energy patterns, a Zenith Cross Over will occur. Think like a…"

"Program Advance from Megaman Battle Network…? Or a Galaxy Advance from Megaman Starforce…?"

"Um… yeah sure, let's go with those…" he said not knowing what C.J. was talking about. "Anyway, a Zenith Cross Over is an ability that's extremely rare, even among those able to Cross Over. And each combination has one finisher that can be executed."

"You don't happen to know what this finisher is, do you…?"

Marcus shook his head. "Honestly I didn't realize that _this_ would happen. I'm only here because that Jamie chick is balling her eyes out back there for you; and I hate to say it, but I felt bad."

C.J. gave him a glare. "Back off dude."

"What? I saved your butt didn't I?"

"No I really mean back off!" He kicked Marcus away and jumped back himself as Ryuusei flew from overhead and stabbed the ground with the blade of his scythe.

"I will not let you live!" Ryuusei snarled furiously. "I am the only one who can reach the power of the Zenith!" He dashed towards C.J. and let out a fury of slashes with his scythe.

"I refuse to let a brat such as you to disgrace a power it took years for me to master!"

"MARCUS!" C.J. yelled for help. "Hurry up and save my butt again!"

Marcus skidded up and leapt into the air, drawing a cross gear from his pocket.

"Hell Sabers: Cross over!" He called out as he gained the twin blades. He lunged forward and slashed Ryuusei in the back, chipping his back armor.

Ryuusei growled in pain and hit Marcus with the blunt side of the scythe in the stomach, making him lose his balance.

"You're wide open!" C.J. said as his armored gauntlets began to glow green. He slashed Ryuusei horizontally, causing more armor to chip from the impact, once again sending him back.

Marcus recovered as the duo made a comeback on Ryuusei, taking turns pushing him further and further back, not allowing him to recover after the previous strike before.

With the form collapsing, Ryuusei looked on, his mask cracking.

"It's over…" C.J. told him.

Ryuusei looked at him, and began to laugh hysterically. "You couldn't have been more right." He reached in his back armor and pulled a switch out.

"What is that…?" Marcus looked.

"It's clear that I lost this battle." Ryuusei admitted. "However…" he pressed the switch as sirens began to sound off.

_SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN INITIATED! T-MINUS 60 SECONDS!_ The on-board computer announced throughout the ship. Afterwards the sounds of agents scrambling for their lives were heard outside the ship as the ones who could escape did.

"Are you insane? You're going down with the ship?" C.J. asked surprised.

"Correction: _We're_ down with the ship!" Ryuusei said in hysteria. "I'll see you both in hell!"

"Well then… just answer this one question…"

Ryuusei regained his composure.

"Who are you really…?"

Ryuusei reached for his broken part of the mask and cracked it more, so that it would break. But before pulling it away he spoke.

"For those reading this… this is Gentaro Kurosaki of the Ryuusei Space shuttle. I don't have a lot of time to explain so I'll be quick…" he began to recite.

* * *

><p><em>[Earth; present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"It's been a few hours since my two teammates, Shotaro Inoue and Kengo Watanabe found me with the legendary beast known in this world as 'Thanatos.'" Jamie read from the journal. Since my encounter, I've been running for my life. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide… I stole Shotaro's journal to write this down in case anyone found it." She looked at him before she kept reading. "I encountered the beast shortly after our arrival, in a crater a few kilometers from where our ship crashed. It was in the shape of a black egg, and it spoke to me, allowing me to study it. It told me of its condition and asked for help on restoring him. I agreed and he explained what he needed.<p>

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai; present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"Every time I was sent to do something for my fellow mates, I would travel off and meet with Thanatos to aid him. Eventually his egg hatched into a built up smoke form. He then revealed to me that his real body is sealed in the core of the planet and only an immense amount of raw energy was needed to power him enough to break his seal. And there were two ways in order to achieve it. The first was to collect the five Catastrophe Cross gears, weapons held by the great rulers of the world. And the other…"<p>

* * *

><p><em>[Earth; Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"Was the Destruction of his nine warriors, each of them holding a tenth of his full power…" Jamie finished. "If I managed to achieve that, he promised me anything I desired. In order to accomplish this, he gave me his current power, to do either one of the actions. But that's when they discovered me. If you're asking yourself why I'm writing about all of this now, and why I seem like I'm fearing for my life…"<p>

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai; Present time…]<em>

* * *

><p>"It's because Thanatos claims I outlived my usefulness, and has found someone else to take his place…" Ryuusei pulled the mask from his face. "And that person…"<p>

* * *

><p><em>[Earth; Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"Was Shotaro himself…" Jamie slammed the book shut.<p>

The room turned to Shotaro who looked around, shocked that the Gentaro's final words explained who Ryuusei was. But he sighed.

"I knew I should've killed him right there and then." He said. He took his glasses off and shook his hair out, revealing the gray streaks in it.

"I must say; you are quite the sneaky detective; No wonder Death Phoenix saw potential in you." Shotaro looked at Jamie. "Mind if I try it out?"

* * *

><p><em>[Kaijin no Sekai: Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"Ryuusei's… A machine…?" C.J. asked staring at the silver metal face of the Man that stood before them.<p>

The Android laughed. "Not quite. I am a duplicate created by the Real Ryuusei; Shotaro Inoue remains on earth where your friends are. He's manipulated everything so that he could have me take down the two strongest from each group, while he finished the rest of you lot off. And it seems like he succeeded."

"Crap, we can't get back…"

_T-MINUS 30 SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT!_

"Well that doesn't help…" C.J. said annoyed.

"Pathetic humans… You have no chance of winning so give up!"

C.J. was getting ready to face facts, but Marcus started to laugh.

"What's so funny…?"

"I think you forgot something." Marcus pressed a button on his deck case and a portal materialized.

"How can this be?" the android stammered.

"How else did you think we were able to travel between worlds? C.J., finish this guy and let's get back."

C.J. smirked and nodded. "It's going to be fun having you as a rival." He flipped the blades downward as he sent Kaijudo Energy through them.

"Let's run wild." C.J. said as his skates ignited. He suddenly shot up to the Robot and slashed away at it as it sparked up violently. The Robot barely able to keep up tried its best but to no avail. But that's when he saw a small opening.

"I got you!"

C.J. disappeared before the blade made contact, appearing behind the leaning android.

"Super Terra Impact!" he turned around and slashed the bot one final time, it screaming in agonizing pain. It dropped to its knees and exploded.

"Nice!" Marcus gave him thumbs up.

C.J. smirked, but then found him lightheaded. "I think… I'm gonna die now." He fell forward.

"Oh, no you don't...!" Marcus picked him up. "You're not dying on my watch." He went through the open portal just as the ship hit five seconds.

* * *

><p>The ship then exploded, enough for the neighboring creatures all around to see.<p>

"C.J….!" Tsume called out as Kage and Blaze looked up.

"They're alive…" Kage said reassuringly. Don't worry, I can sense his Kaijudo Energy.

Tsume sighed in relief as the avatars gathered around the trio.

"So is it over?" Tsume asked.

"For now anyway…" Starnoid shrugged his shoulders not giving a straight answer.

* * *

><p><em>[Earth; Present time]<em>

* * *

><p>"Dr. Shotaro Inoue, you are hereby under arrest for terrorist acts brought upon both Earth and the Kaijin no Sekai. You are also charged for attempting to release the Beast Thanatos, which is forbidden by the law of the Five Avatars. Lastly for forcing creatures into slavery, even implanting the being known as ARC into a creature, you are under arrest for Creature endangerment." Jason spoke.<p>

Shotaro looked on to Mr. Roman and smirked. "You don't really think that arresting me would be this easy, do you? You're better off killing me."

"That can be arranged." Mr. Roman agreed.

"Well, yes; however I'll just kill her as well." Shotaro pulled out a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at Jamie.

"You wouldn't…" Jason growled as his hard sparked red and white Kaijudo Energy.

Shotaro turned. "Listen boy; If it wasn't for me revealing this world to you there wouldn't be such thing as Duel Masters, let alone the DCA. Just as I easily brought this into the world, I can just as easily end the life of one of the top players in the world. So I suggest that you calm down and let me walk out of here peacefully; because of course, I have nine supernovas; only five have been destroyed."

"You're bluffing…" Jason shot.

"Frankly you're in no position to say that. I'm extremely powerful and I shouldn't be taken lightly; If a Robotic Clone could do as much as it's done in the Creature world, imagine what a 'Real Life Ryuusei' could do?"

Jason grunted and calmed himself down. Shotaro nodded.

"Smart move." He withdrew his pistol and walked out of the room.

"Keep an eye on him." Jason told Riley.

"Sasha's in the air tracking him as we speak." Riley reassured.

* * *

><p>Shotaro made it up to the Roof of the building, nostalgia coming back when the team first went up against Michael.<p>

"_Took you long enough…"_

Shotaro heard Tachibana speak as he found him waiting for him.

"So you knew…"

"I didn't want to believe it." Tachibana said. "It hurts to know that you were really the one under the influence of Thanatos."

Shotaro walked closer to Tachibana and stopped as the two looked out towards Tokyo.

"Nearly Fifteen years has passed since you came back… And it's been fifteen years… that you've been working on making a world for yourself."

"It's something that you have to experience for yourself. I'd give anything to stay there." Shotaro told him.

"So… why didn't you go through when you had the chance then? You provided the technology to those kids to travel in between…"

Shotaro shook his head. "Would've raised too many suspicions…"

"I must say though; it was clever how you changed your last name to Gentaro's; was that another way to cover your blood-ridden tracks?"

"To make it seem like I was Shinji's father; I didn't realize his step father was killed years ago. That girl really had me thinking on my feet I'll admit…"

The duo laughed a bit.

"So, Sho-kun… What are you going to do know, now that you're a wanted criminal where the DCA's concerned?"

Shotaro sighed. "Keep moving forward. It'd be a shame to stop now where I'm so close."

Tachibana nodded. "I understand. Before we part however, let me give you a piece of advice…"

Shotaro turned, curious as to what his longtime friend wanted to tell him.

"Mars, Mercury and Venus' summoning here on earth unlocked part of Ixion's seal. I don't know if Thanatos realized, but it was something that Ixion's comets implanted in them when they were first sealed. If the Planets aligned, Ixion would awaken and destroy them all, with Thanatos stuck in the core, not able to do a thing.

"You forget however; if the phoenixes were destroyed, then Thanatos would absorb their power."

"True, but with Ixion being backed by the Comets, Thanatos wouldn't stand a chance. It's just a warning but, if you do plan on continuing, just know that Thanatos will be destroyed, no matter what you do to prevent it." He started to walk off towards the exit of the roof.

"Why do you know so much about Ixion…?" Shotaro asked.

"Because…" Tachibana stopped and smirked. "Like you and Thanatos, I came into contact with Ixion. And he's ready to take on Thanatos once he awakens…"

Shotaro nodded. "Well played, Aniki…" he pulled out his gun and aimed at Tachibana who in turn closed his eyes and smiled.

"Aniki…?"

"Yes, Sho-kun…?"

A tear developed in Shotaro's face as he rested his finger on the trigger.

"Thanks for the advice…"

After the quick bang in the air, Tachibana dropped to the ground, not losing that smile of faith written on his face; the faith that he had in KG that they'll stop at nothing to defeat Shotaro and the remaining four Supernovas that he had…

* * *

><p>C.J. woke up later on that night in a hospital room, hooked onto machinery like everyone else that ended up there before him. A bandaged forehead and his arm in a sling were new additions however. And of course, the smiling face of one certain individual made him feel 100% better.<p>

"Hey there…" Jamie whispered to him.

"I kept my promise…" C.J. smiled. "It was hard, but I did it."

"Can you make another promise?" she asked.

C.J. nodded.

"Don't ever make promises if you know you can't keep them."

C.J. turned to his deck case where Tsume and Flare sat.

"You told her about what happened in the elevator, didn't you…?" C.J. glared at the fire bird.

"Nope, you're about to tell her." The Cocco Lupia smiled as she pointed to the slightly infuriated Jamie.

"Oh crap…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the rest of the KG team and Team Nova stand across from each other as they get ready to part.<p>

"So what are you guys gonna do now?" Jake asked.

"No idea. Not like we have a home to go back to." June replied.

"Well we'll make it work. We still have money in our bank accounts so we can find a big enough apartment to live in, and of course we can all get jobs to support our selves." Vanessa suggested.

"We'll be fine; and we'll check up on you guys, see how them two are doing." Marcus joked.

"Well, if you need anything, just let us know." Karon told them.

"Yeah, Karon's family owns the most popular card shop in NYC, which of course doubles as a mini-mall, with ESPN Zone and Fun station and a food court and-"

"Yeah Dylan, they get it, I'm rich." Karon filled in.

"Oh yeah we'll definitely be over to visit. Reapers need to stick together." Peyton held his fist out, which made Karon bump it in return."

"We might as well move to NYC." Mike said. "It sounds like a new place; after all, we all grew up in Jersey so we were next door to it from the start."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I would love to live back state-side again. Japan's gotten dull, especially with all of these copied metadecks flying around; these A-Ranks here aren't so creative." Marcus added.

"Well whatever happens, we promise to see you guys again. After all, you guys are our family too." Vanessa smiled.

Jake nodded; "Of course we are…"

Dylan yawned and stretched his arms. "Dudes, we should get going, Jason said that our plane leaves tomorrow morning."

"Right;" Jake nodded.

"So I guess this is good bye then huh…?" June asked Jake.

"For now;" Jake smiled back. He and June hugged.

"You make an awesome bro." June told him, and she pecked him on the cheek;

Jake blushed slightly as the groups waved goodbye.

For now anyway…

* * *

><p>The next morning, C.J. got released from the hospital as he met up with his friends at the hotel nearby and ate breakfast with them.<p>

Jamie felt her phone vibrate and she checked it. "It's my bro, he's on his way to pick us up."

"How long is that gonna take?" C.J. asked.

"He said he'll be here in fifteen minutes, why?"

"Perfect, I need to talk to you for a sec; in private."

Jamie raised an eyebrow, not liking the sound of that.

* * *

><p>C.J. dragged Jamie outside with the tomboy wondering why C.J. wanted to talk to her privately.<p>

"Just clear something up for me?" C.J. asked.

Jamie nodded. "Ok, if it gets me back to my waffle."

"Are you sure…?"

"Sure about what…?"

"I mean… What you said back there; when I made that promise and when you told me that you love me… Are you sure that you really meant it, and you weren't caught in the spur of the moment…?"

Jamie blushed deeply, but she saw how serious C.J. was. Despite that she started laughing hysterically.

"What- what's so funny, this is serious!" C.J. stated, embarrassed by her reaction.

"C.J. honestly dude? You really couldn't tell?"

"Tell what?"

Jamie got closer. "Come here, I'll tell you a secret."

Jamie whispered in his ear and his eyes widened.

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope, dead serious!" she smiled happily.

"Stop lying Jamie, that's not funny?"

"What, I'm serious; I never had a boyfriend before… and that was my first kiss. And to be honest…; Out of all the people that I know; the fact that I shared it with you made it worthwhile. If that doesn't show how much I care for you… then I'll just have to try harder then."

"Jamie…? You don't sound like yourself. You sound…"

"Girly?" She asked. "Well I am a girl, as you can see."

"Well no duh. It's just I never seen this side of you; it's kinda cute actually."

"Well this is the side I kept hidden. You have my Shobu/Mimi personality, and then you have… this; an emotional teenager who has just felt love for the first time. It just so happens, that it's for you. "And face it C.J., I've known since we met that you had a huge crush on me, that wasn't a secret. But now I want to ask you something…"

"What's that?"

"Do you love me too?"

"Well… I guess I do."

"You… Guess…?"

"Well yeah, considering that I risked my neck for your beloved Bolshack Dragon card, fought a crazed avatar to get you back on our team, worried to death about you when we were separated… I guess me being a hero always had you playing a part in it. And if memory serves, that just fueled my determination even more. You asked why I always put myself in the hero position and now you know; A knight protects his princess. There's no question about that. And you of course, are my princess; thus whenever you're in trouble, I'd be stupid to hesitate."

"Oh for god sakes enough with the soapy love crap just KISS ALREADY!"

Jamie and C.J. looked on and saw Tsume, Flare and even Blaze of all creatures.

"Even you…?" Jamie asked her avatar.

"I've sat through three adventures waiting for this, patiently mind you." Blaze told her. "It's a crime for you not to be together."

"See, even the new guy says go for it." Tsume said in agreement.

"The new guy…?"

"C.J…. just shut up and go along with it." Jamie pulled him closer and the two of them kissed passionately.

Jason pulled up in the DCA affiliated SUV and rolled down the window. He pulled his sunglasses up and sighed in relief.

"They finally did it Inferno. Dang, what took him so long?"

A red armored Bolmeteus with jade green eyes, rugged, wings and Katanas on the side of the armor materialized on his shoulder and rested.

"Is your paycheck going to cover the wedding expenses?"

Jason chuckled. "I'll let Mom and Dad worry about that." He honked the horn. "Hey lovebirds, come on, plane's taking off in a bit."

Jamie and C.J. broke from the kiss and saw Jason. They turned to each other and smiled.

* * *

><p>Later on with the DCA-affiliated Private jet returning to NYC from Tokyo, the KG team took the time for much needed rest. Especially Jamie and C.J. whose heads leaned on each other with their hands clasped like they were stuck together with crazy glue. The two covered with the blanket they were nothing but smiles, as they both dreamt off.<p>

* * *

><p>Shotaro watched as the plane soared higher in the air, he now being dressed in a black and blue suit-attire with sunglasses. He lit a cigarette and blew the smoke from his mouth.<p>

"_Cigarettes are bad for you."_ Kengo said as he walked up.

"I can quit whenever I feel like it." Shotaro replied.

"You said the same thing about Thanatos' power, now look at you. Tachibana's dead, the DCA has a bounty on your head…"

"Doesn't bother me none;" Shotaro replied calmly. "Get Yuuki and the other four. We're heading out."

"Following them?"

Shotaro nodded. "Just because five of my Supernovas are gone, doesn't mean in the slightest that my plans changed. I want you six to get the gears; simple as that."

"OK that sounds easy."

"It should for someone of your caliber; Kelly should especially have fun. She's told me that Neptune's been after ARC for quite some time."

"And What about Justin and Saturn…?"

"He should be ready to duel as well; I did promise to reunite him with June if he succeeded in his mission… This might give him an extra push."

"And I'm assuming that Danny and Terra are moving out?"

Shotaro nodded. "They've been alerted of the current situation and are awaiting further orders."

"Along with Yuuki and me, we, the Quasar Six will make sure that master Thanatos will be free from his prison;"

"And along with that, we'll make sure that Ixion is taken out as well…" Shotaro threw the cigarette from his mouth and stomped it out.

"Just need to wait for the moment to strike…"

Shotaro continued to watch the plane go farther ahead, knowing full well that this was only the calm before the storm, and that the Hurricane called "War" was rapidly approaching…

[THE END]


End file.
